The In-between
by Chatting Airborne
Summary: Kairi tries to take on normal life again after returning to Destiny Islands. But, as time goes on, Kairi struggles with the possibility that her previous adventures may have been a dream- and the realization that she is slowly forgetting her best friend. Set between Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2.
1. Prologue

Kairi looked down in confusion as the brown sand she stood on seemed as though it would separate from the white, hazy, powdery ground in front of it. Fog drifted up into the black abyss around her, and the thoughts in her mind were numerous and frenetic. Kairi couldn't remember how she had gotten to this place, where it was, or how long she had been there. But the ground in front of her scared her the most.

Then, a voice called her name. It drifted around her, and settled urgently in her ears. Her heart jumped as she raised her head to see who was saying her name, even though she recognized that voice by heart.

"Sora!" she called, stepping towards him in relief. She had a feeling that he would come for her. Sora stopped in front of her, reaching out to touch her, when there was a great tremor that shook the world around them, and a resounding boom that resembled thunder. Kairi stopped herself from falling backwards, and instead let Sora catch her.

As she looked back up at him in fear, she could see that his eyes held an urgency that she could not understand. It was like he knew something inevitable was coming. A separation.

"Kairi" he said, bringing her attention back onto his voice. "Remember what you said before?"

Kairi nodded, and things seemed to get harder on Sora by the second. "I'm always with you too. I'll come back to you!"

Kairi desperately held onto Sora's hand, realizing for the first time that the space between them was getting greater and greater. She refused to look at the ground below her, but she knew now that the sandy platform she stood on had separated from the white misty ground Sora stood on. The black abyss dared her to jump into Sora's arms- but she knew that she had to go home. She didn't want to cause Sora any trouble, but she couldn't let him out of her sight again.

"I promise!" Sora added willfully, and squeezed Kairi's hand. In that moment, she understood.

"I know you will." Kairi shouted at him, trying to make her quavering voice sound strong. Then, her hands slipped out of Sora's grasp, and they were pulled away from each other. Kairi tried to frantically reach for him, and he for her, but the distance was too far, and she watched helplessly, as her best friend grew farther and farther away.

Kairi forced her hands to stop reaching for him. She wanted to make things as easy for Sora as possible. She didn't want to look like a baby, like a weak thing. She had to stay strong for him. So she pulled back. Eventually, Sora stopped reaching for her, too, as he grew hazier and hazier.

The abyss surrounding Kairi suddenly grew softer, changing from a stark black nothingness, to a deep deep blue haze. Kairi continued to look up at Sora, fearing that if she took her eyes off him, he would disappear forever. She did not notice a small, golden orb of light drift down from the abyss above, right into her palm, until she felt its reassuring warmth spread from her palms, all through her body, engulfing her. Kairi looked up above her in surprise, and gasped as she noticed that thousands upon thousands of the same golden orbs were drifting down around her, from the dusk blue haze around her, that seemed to grow more tangible by the second. It all looked so much like the night sky, the way she saw it. It reminded her so much of home.

Up, further away, was Sora. He looked around at the falling orbs in awe, and back down at Kairi, who admired them as they fell to the ground around her.

Suddenly, there was a burst of blue light that seemed to explode from the sand behind her like fireworks. Up through this blue light shot the trees, flowers, and bushed that had graced the island that she and her friends had never failed to visit when they had dreamed of adventure, before it all happened.

The blue light left behind bursts of purple fireworks, and through them, the trees seemed to grow, until the light dissipated, and Kairi began to make out wooden huts and various passageways through the enormous trees behind her. In front of her, she could barely hear the sound of the tide coming in, and she marveled at everything, as the orbs of yellow light continued to fall around her.

Kairi looked back into the sky, and barely made out Sora in the haze around him. The white, hazy ground that had stood firm below him, looked like a small iceberg now, drifting out to sea. The white fog that had wafted up from it before, began to turn into a heavy blue haze, and then it became more opaque, whizzing blue lights, that formed around Sora like a supernova, engulfing him. The iceberg disappeared behind the blue haze of light, and the light slowly became smaller and smaller, setting like a blue sun on the horizon. It trembled for a moment, and then, it released thousands of bright blue shooting stars, that whizzed through the sky and pinged into position, setting the stars where they used to be.

Kairi looked up at the blue haze that quickly disappeared on the horizon, and then at the stars that were rearranging themselves in the night sky. Then, she closed her eyes, and blew a kiss to Sora. This set her heart at peace, and she smiled, willing Sora forward.

She knew that he had a lot of work to do, in some other place, in some other time. But until he was finished saving a world that she did not know, she would be waiting for him.

…

Kairi woke up on the island's beach, with the water wafting playfully around her feet. She rubbed her eyes as she pulled herself up off of the ground, and stretched herself out, sighing audibly.

She looked around with no considerable surprise at her surroundings.

"Wow!" she thought to herself, sighing again. "What a strange dream I had!"

She remembered the storm that had ravaged Destiny Islands. She had gone to the Secret Place that she and Sora had drawn in before, to keep safe. Then, everything became hazy. She knew that Sora had caught her in his arms. She couldn't understand why he would have left her on the beach, though.

She decided that her best bet would be to search around the forest area, and eventually made her way towards the Secret Place, reminiscing on the maddening dream she had had last night.

In it, she had woken up from a long sleep, was told she was a 'princess of heart', among other things, was carted off by strange people she did not know, and was separated from Sora, again. It boggled her mind that her imagination could have come up with something that riveting. She felt rather proud of herself.

She finally reached the cave, and went inside of it, smiling and running her hands along the walls that held so many chalk drawings. It reminded her of when she and her friends were much younger.

A hole in the rocks that made up the roof of the cave let in beams of light that illuminated the old, wooden door that had always been there, before anyone could remember. A sense of ease overcame Kairi as she looked at the door, contrary to the foreboding that the door had always exuded before. She wondered what had changed.

As Kairi's eyes traveled around the cave, she noticed one drawing in particular, the first drawing that she and Sora had completed together. Something was different about it, though.

It was a picture of Sora and Kairi looking at each other with gaping smiles. But, unlike before, there was now an arm extending from Sora's picture of himself, handing Kairi a paopu fruit.

Kairi suddenly felt her world crumbling around her, and she had to take hold of the wall to keep her steady. At that moment, she realized that what she had previously thought was a dream that spanned one night, was actually a reality that had spanned much longer.

Sora was gone.

That reality was the worst of all. But, even though it hurt, she couldn't help but laugh. Sora was just as superstitious as she was! Kairi searched around for a piece of chalky stone on the ground, and started to draw an addition to the picture.

When she was finished, she looked at her handy work with satisfaction, and walked out of the Secret Place, making her way down the pathway, and out to the dock. There was still no one on the beach. She poked her head around the dock, and was delighted to find that her little boat was still drifting aimlessly through the water. It was as if the storm that had ravaged her home so long ago, was an illusion; everything seemed so calm.

She rowed away from the Island, noticing that the birds had begun returning from over the sea. They flocked over her, and traveled towards the docks on the main island, settling down near it to feast on the fish that had also come in closer to shore, from the deep sea.

She tied her boat to the dock, and exited it gingerly, going up the beach towards her hometown. With a deep breath, she plodded on faster, whistling a little bit in good spirits, as she thought of what she had drawn for Sora.

In their Secret Place, there was a drawing of Sora and Kairi, smiling big open mouth grins at each other. Sora held out a paopu fruit to Kairi, and she gladly returned the favor, holding out an even bigger one to him.

While not together in person, Kairi and Sora were tied together by their hearts. Kairi could never forget that.

**END PROLOGUE**


	2. Week 1

Kairi held her hand in front of her eyes to shield them from the sun as it crept through her bedroom window. Looking over to the left side of her bed, she saw her little desk that her parents had bought her when she started junior high. It looked too small for her, now.

Her bedroom door creaked as it opened, and her mother peeked her head in. Kairi smiled, and waved at the woman, who came closer to her and sat on the side of her bed.

"How are you, sweetie?" the mayor's wife said softly, and Kairi shrugged. "I don't know."

Her mother chuckled. "If you're feeling nervous about school, you can always come to us to talk about it. You know your father and I will always be here."

There was a pang in Kairi's heart as Sora smiled at her in her mind, the sun shining on the waves behind him. It was a memory from when they were building their raft.

"So will I." Kairi said softly, but her mother didn't hear her. She was busy rearranging Kairi's uniform on the desk chair. "You know," Kairi's mother began, pursing her lips before she continued, "I think that you're nervous, going to school. But this is your last year in junior high! Two more terms and you'll be a high school student!"

Kairi smiled as she thought about it. Riku would have been going to senior high school. He'd started into it really enthusiastically, but as time passed, he'd become less and less satisfied with it, getting involved less and less until summer came around, when they'd contemplated running away. Sometimes Kairi wondered if Riku just wanted to run away from a future on Destiny Islands.

Maybe that was why he wanted to get away on the raft. Senior high seemed to represent something sinister to him, the end of an era, a door being shut to him. He didn't like Kairi and Sora talking about it when the three of them were together. But now, the era had ended, and Kairi hoped that Riku and Sora had gotten the adventure they wanted. For her, as the summer came to a close, the adventure had ended.

It seemed that when Destiny Islands had been swallowed up by heartless, it had fallen into a deep sleep. When it became whole again, people had strange memories of a part of summer that had never happened.

According to them, the storm had lasted for a whole week, and a lot of property had been damaged. But, with help from the good hearts of the townspeople (and the mayor's pocket) everyone had been able to completely rebuild Destiny Islands so that it exceeded its old splendor. After the storm, fishing had apparently been great, and the sea shone brighter and moved calmer than it had ever done before. There was no crime, and everyone had gotten along amazingly. Even Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka had memories of playing with Sora, Kairi, and Riku when the three were not there. Kairi wondered if the town's people's memories had been a part of the world's dreams when it had been asleep, brought to life when everyone woke up again. The memories existed in a dimension that made it impossible to render them real or fake.

"Kairi?" her mother inquired as Kairi drifted off into her own thoughts. "Are you listening?"

Kairi snapped out of her reverie, and nodded slowly, smiling. "I was just thinking about school." She said quietly, and her mother patted her affectionately on the back. "Have fun today, darling. Breakfast is downstairs."

Kairi's uniform seemed to stare at her from over the chair in front of her desk, until she finally gave in with a huff, and went over to get it. She got her other clothing, and a towel, and took it all into the bathroom to have a shower.

Breakfast was waiting for her when she got downstairs, as her mother had said. Her father was probably in his office room, making calls and meeting with people already. She didn't see her mother in sight, so she had probably gone out shopping. The house was quiet, and the sun shone through the window, bathing Kairi's face in light.

She finished her breakfast quickly, and ran the plates into the kitchen, then went to brush her teeth, before dashing downstairs and out the back door.

There were five schools in Destiny Islands, and two public daycare buildings. One was the Kindergarten, Destiny Islands Elementary School, Destiny Islands Junior High School, and Destiny Islands Senior High School, and the last was the University of Destiny Islands.

Kairi suddenly felt cheated. Sora and Riku had always promised that they would go through high school together (or not), and brave whatever world waited for them outside of their innocent childhood games. Now she would have to go through it alone.

"No." Kairi whispered to herself as she walked to the school building. "They'll be home in no time."

The sounds of girls giggling and talking grew behind her, and Kairi stole a glance around her shoulder. It was a few girls from her grade, and the grade above her. They were talking about inconsequential things; like second term, and high school and boys.

Two of the girls, Elyon and Kuroha, Kairi knew. Kuroha was the prettiest girl in their grade, with long, black wavy hair that she kept swept up with a flowery pin on the right side of her face. It seemed slightly untamable, because wisps of it forever fell over her face, which was of a porcelain complexion. She had green eyes that shone forth from under her long, black, thick eyelashes, and her eyebrows and red lips and pink cheeks and everything else about her was perfect. She was graceful and charming to boot.

Elyon was pretty, too, but she wasn't anything near as lovely as Kuroha. Elyon was the smart one, and everyone had the feeling that Kuroha's main attraction to Elyon was her brains.

Kairi averted her gaze back to the road ahead of her, and started walking a little bit faster. Her best friends since the day she'd ended up on Destiny Islands had been Sora and Riku. She didn't know much about girls, except for Selphie, and _she _had been a friend to Tidus and Wakka. As Kairi walked forward hastily, she could almost feel Kuroha's gaze upon her back.

"Don't call me out, don't call me out, don't call me out…" Kairi growled to herself, but Kuroha never called her name, and Kairi breathed out a sigh of relief when she finally reached the school building.

She went up to the second floor where the third year classes were held, waiting to be let into her class as the teacher inspected uniforms.

Kairi took a seat in the back of the classroom after uniform inspection, and fluffed up her hair a little, opening up her notebook and pencil case, rummaging around in it for a good pencil and eraser. The class filled up eventually, and there were squeals outside as people met up with friends. Kairi noticed Elyon and Kuroha walking into the room together and sighed. Kuroha looked straight at her, and beckoned to Elyon to take a seat near her. Elyon sat in front of Kairi, and Kuroha took a seat beside her.

When the teacher came in, and started talking to them about the schedule for the new year, Kuroha looked over at Kairi and smiled. Kairi smiled back for lack of a better thing to do, and looked forward at the teacher again. Kuroha occasionally listened to what the teacher was saying, but she quickly lost interest at intervals, looking out the windows, and then doodling in her notebook. Kairi found it annoying for some reason.

"Your class president will be stepping up to talk to you about some of the things we'll be doing during the year." The teacher said, and Elyon rose up from her seat to various claps from the classroom.

"The Culture and Sports Festival will be coming up in about a month, so I hope we all have been keeping up with our commitments to make these festivals the best they can be!"

Kairi chuckled to herself, and leaned forward a little bit, sighing and wanting to fall asleep.

"And let's all make this a great year of new beginnings!" she added, and a few class clowns roared approval in the back. The teacher didn't look too impressed, and eyed the boys closely. Then, he frowned in a puzzled way, and searched the class again, shaking his head in slight disapproval.

Elyon sat down, and the teacher stepped forward again. "I almost forgot to take roll, kids, sorry about that."

He called through everyone's name, stopping on Sora's. Kairi held her tongue, forgetting that no one else knew why Sora and Riku were missing except her.

"Sora?" he called again, and the students looked around. "He's usually here, isn't he?" the teacher asked, and the kids shrugged.

"The first day of term is a terrible day to miss school!" the teacher snapped. "He probably overslept and decided not to come."

There were a few laughs from the back of the classroom, and class continued without any more trouble.

When lunch came around, Kairi put her notebooks and pencils back into her bag in order to go to the back of the track field where she, Sora, and Riku usually ate lunch together. But before she could get anywhere, Kuroha grabbed her arm, and turned her back around.

"Hi!" she said with a smile. "You're Kairi, right?"

"Yeah." Kairi mumbled, and Kuroha nodded. "You seem a little different than last term. I bet you had a great summer!"

"Yeah." Kairi grinned, thinking how ironic it was that for most of it, she had been asleep.

"I didn't have that great of a summer." Kuroha sighed in mock sadness, and then smiled cheekily. "I kissed a boy, though."

Kairi didn't say anything to the girl, who seemed to want her to say something. "That's… nice…" Kairi finally managed, with a smile. She didn't know why the girl was confiding in her so much. "Where's Elyon?" Kuroha sighed, looking around. Then, she shrugged and turned back to Kairi again, leaning forward. "You're usually always with those two boys."

"Sora and Riku." Kairi replied, nodding. "They're my best friends."

"Do you have any girl friends?" Kuroha asked. "Uh… Selphie?" Kairi tried, and Kuroha furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think if she knew her or not. "She's a grade below us." Kairi helped, making Kuroha snort. "You hang around with the babies, huh?" Then, the girl laughed, flipping back her long black curls.

Elyon walked into the classroom with some lunch and a binder and made her way over to Kuroha. As she sat down, she stole a glance at Kairi before looking back at Kuroha.

"This is Kairi." Kuroha said to her, and Elyon nodded. "I know. I've seen Kairi before."

"Kairi's friends with those two boys, Sora and Riku."

"Yeah I've seen them hanging out before, Kuroha."

Kuroha seemed satisfied with this, and sat back in contentment, looking out the window again. "The weather is really nice." She sighed. "I think that we should go out after school."

"I have to study." Elyon said, and Kuroha made heavy protest. "You're so nerdy, Elyon! Come on, it's the first day back!"

"If I want to get into the advanced program in the high school, I've got to study!" Elyon snapped. "They look at those exam grades and stuff come college, too."

"From middle school?" Kairi asked incredulously, and Kuroha laughed in agreement. "I doubt they go back that far, Elyon. This is your last year to have fun!"

Elyon's resolve finally broke, and she sighed, putting her hands up as if in surrender. "Fine, fine, we can go out," she scowled, and Kuroha gave an over zealous squeal and hugged her. "You're coming, right Kairi?"

Kairi blinked at her in surprise, and finally shook her head. "I think I'll wait up for Sora and Riku." She mumbled. Kuroha looked dejected. "Well, you've got to make _some _girl friends before high school. Someday, your boy friends will get tired of having a girl around them all the time."

Kairi looked down at her hands as Kuroha said this, affected. But she stayed silent. "I think that I'll pass today."

"Alright." Kuroha said, abandoning her efforts to get Kairi to come along with her.

The rest of the school day passed without incident, and Kairi walked home on her own. Apparently, there was going to be a back to school night where clubs were going to set up stands for people to join, soon. Kairi had never joined an after school club before. After school, she, Sora, and Riku had always gone to the island to play. Did that mean anything?

She wondered what the schools were like in other worlds. She doubted that Hollow Bastion had any sort of anything, and that was the only world she'd seen. Yuffie had told her that she lived in Traverse Town, which she said was crawling with heartless. A school would be pretty dangerous in a place like that.

It made Kairi wonder where Sora and Riku were now. She knew in her heart that they were fine. Sora promised that he'd come back, after all. Kairi just didn't know how long she'd have to wait.

…

Kairi made her way down to the docks silently, shielding her eyes from the setting sun. The waves crashed against the dock's wooden legs, revealing barnacles every time they pulled back into the sea. It made Kairi sigh in contentment. Her little boat hung in the harbor beside Sora and Riku's, and as she stepped into her own, she ran her fingers along both boats remembering the last time they had all been at the beach together. Then, she took the oars from inside her boat, untied the vessel, and began to row.

The island grew larger and larger as she came upon it, quiet and unchanged. Finally, her boat reached the tiny dock on the island, and she tied it in, and stepped out onto the sand below the wooden planks, setting her hands on her hips.

She contemplated going back to her and Sora's secret place, but she decided against it, feeling like it would make her sad. Maybe she just needed time to come to terms with the fact that Sora and Riku would not be with her every day anymore.

There was the sound of laughing and running feet, and Kairi turned and saw that Selphie and Tidus were running towards her, with Wakka not far behind.

"Kairi!" Selphie screamed, charging at her with all her might. She clung her little wooden sandals in her left hand and her jump rope in her right so that she could run faster, and threw them down when she came near Kairi, throwing her hands out and giving the red head an enormous hug. It nearly sent Kairi onto the sand, and both girls laughed affectionately.

"Hey, Kairi!" Selphie barked, and Kairi waved at her playfully. Tidus and Wakka caught up, and both said hi to Kairi, too.

"How are you guys?" Kairi asked, and Selphie snorted. "We're just fine! We were playing a game that Wakka made up!"

"I didn't make it up!" Wakka said defensively. "And I wasn't really playing… I just kind of joined in…"

"Oh don't be so 'mature', Wakka!" Selphie snapped, and turned back to Kairi with a big smile. "When are you going to turn fifteen?" she asked.

"Not for a while." Kairi replied.

Selphie looked at her with big eyes. "Are your parents going to get you a really cool present?"

Kairi laughed, shrugging. "I don't know. Fifteen isn't that special." She only wanted one thing for her birthday. And a small, hopeless portion of her heart suspected that it wouldn't come true.

"It is so special!" Selphie corrected passionately, as if what Kairi had just said was a travesty.

"Your birthday is in December, right?" Wakka asked, and Kairi nodded. "I'm surprised you knew!"

Wakka blushed a little bit, shrugging nonchalantly. "Selphie told me or something."

"I didn't know her birthday was in December!" Selphie protested, and Wakka frowned at her. "Well, I guess Sora told me, or whatever!" he snapped, trudging off to the shore with his eyes looking at the ground.

"Wakka's funny." Selphie giggled as Wakka walked away. "You think he's really carefree, but then he just gets really serious sometimes!"

They stood for a second, both daydreaming blissfully, before Selphie snapped out of it and took Kairi by the hand. "Do you want to play, Kairi?" she asked, more of a fact then a question. Kairi nodded, and started to run off in front of Selphie. "Beat you to the paopu trees!" She shouted after her, and Selphie squealed with delight, hurrying to catch up with her.

When Wakka noticed that everyone was running away, he started to follow them, catching up beside Tidus.

"You've been really pensive lately, Wakka" Tidus said breathlessly as the two charged after the girls. Wakka shrugged as he ran. "I guess I'm just used to seeing Kairi with Sora and Riku all the time."

"I know. I wonder where they are?" Tidus asked, and Wakka shrugged. "I don't know. It's nice in a way, that they're not here."

Tidus didn't pry anymore, and let the subject go, running along with Wakka in silence until they finally reached Kairi and Selphie, who were discussing a game they could play with bright enthusiasm.

…

Kairi walked up to the front door of Sora's house, and tried to knock on it. But, she found that strangely, she could not bring herself to do it. She was about to turn around and just go home, when Sora's mother opened the door. She looked a little bit worried.

"Kairi!" she said enthusiastically, giving the girl a quick hug. "Come in for some tea."

Kairi didn't want to be rude, so she acquiesced with an inaudible sigh, walking into the kitchen after Sora's mother, and sitting down at their table.

"How are you, darling?" his mother asked, and Kairi shrugged. "I'm fine." She said politely. There was a strangely uncomfortable air in the room, like something was not being addressed.

Finally, Sora's mother took a deep breath and barreled into it.

"I really wanted to talk to you real fast about Sora. Do you know where he is?"

Kairi clamped her mouth shut, thinking fast on what to say. "Um…" she stuttered. "He's at Riku's house, I think. They stayed over to do a project." Kairi didn't know why she was lying to Sora's mother; she shouldn't have lied to her. But she couldn't tell her the truth. She was afraid that Sora's mother would come to her for emotional support, or something stupid like that. Kairi couldn't deal with Sora's mother leaning on her shoulder, not when Kairi knew what was really going on. She'd just try to keep things in the dark until Sora came back.

After this was cleared up, Kairi and Sora's mother sat in partial silence, with little bursts of polite conversation, before Kairi finished her tea, and thanked Sora's mother for the hospitality, before leaving. As Kairi exited the house and started down the pathway leading to the sidewalk, Sora's mother stopped her.

"Kairi, just tell me if there's anything wrong with Sora, if you feel like anything is weird."

Kairi paused, before nodding. Then, she set off, wondering if Sora's mother knew in her heart that Sora was not at Riku's house. Why else would she be so worried?

In Twilight Town, kids were able to spend a lot of time away from their parents, because there was no crime, there was no need to worry. The kids were safe as long as they were together, of a certain age, and knew what they were doing. The most dangerous phenomena on Destiny Islands were the waves, which could sweep a person off their feet and into the abyss beneath in seconds.

…

Kairi sat at lunch near the back of the field, watching as a few kids from the football team kicked the ball around to each other, dribbling it forward and back with complete concentration. Riku had been good at football in junior high, and had gotten into the football club in high school. But, he quickly quit, saying everyone was too 'serious' and that it was 'pointless'.

The boys looked dedicated to their sport, practicing and practicing techniques over and over again. Kairi felt guilty suddenly, for not getting more involved in school before. She had been so busy playing that she hadn't even thought of getting involved after school. The teachers had probably viewed her and Sora as troublemakers for their lack of commitment. Maybe it was better that Sora and Riku were off, reveling in an adventure that didn't involve going to school, going to work, and getting old. It chilled Kairi to think that that fate would be what lay ahead of her if she stayed on Destiny Islands. Trapped.

Before thinking against it, Kairi unsheathed an imaginary keyblade from her side, and began to swing it back and forth, making the occasional sound effect.

"Sora, you are not the only chosen one of the keyblade!" She said with a strange accent, and continued to parry with the imaginary blade, blocking imaginary opponents left and right.

"What are you doing?" She heard behind her, and swung her head around to look through the fence behind her. It was Tidus, grinning widely.

"Uh, I don't know…" she mumbled, but Tidus held out his hand. "May I see your blade?" he said with narrowed eyes, trying to keep a straight face. Kairi smiled, and nodded, handing him over her air blade. He examined it, and looked at her questioningly. "Is the gem sea opal?"

"Actually it's aquamarine." She corrected, and Tidus nodded. "Ah, forgive me, my eyesight betrays me." Then, he handed the sword back to her, and she sheathed it again. "It's a mighty blade." Tidus added.

Kairi nodded. "For a mighty warrior."

Tidus laughed, acquiescing. "I admit, I am in the presence of one much greater than I."

"You're pretty alright." Kairi replied, making Tidus smile bigger. At that moment, he reminded her of Sora.

"Actually, I actually came over to ask about Sora. Do you know where he is?" Tidus asked. Kairi looked down at her hands, not knowing what to say. "I don't know. He hasn't said a thing to me."

"And Riku?" Tidus added. Kairi shook her head, indicating that she had not heard from him either. She feared speaking anymore on the subject would somehow reveal what had truly happened.

"That's not good, Kairi." Tidus mumbled, a little worried. "Usually Sora is always around you. Do you think he's sick or something?"

"Maybe." Kairi said. "I'll go check on him today. See if he's still alive."

Tidus forced a chuckle, and then shrugged, as if giving up the effort. "Well, I'll see you around, Kairi." He commented. Then, he waved to her, and walked away from the fence, jogging back to where his class was running. He tried to be subtle, getting back in with the group of kids doing laps, but his teacher caught him, and apparently gave him a few extra to do. Kairi laughed, even though she felt sorry for getting Tidus in trouble.

The lunch bell rang, and Kairi sighed, getting up with her lunchbox, shoving it in her bag, and heading back to class. The kids from the soccer club all filed back inside, hurrying to get to class, and Kairi noticed that Tidus was still doing laps on his own.

As she sat down in the classroom, she noticed Kuroha looking at her intently. They met eyes, and Kuroha had the nerve to keep looking at her, as if examining her. Then, she decided to smile at Kairi, and gave a wave, before turning back to face the front of the room. Elyon bit the tip of her pencil out of habit, waiting for the teacher to come back in and start class.

Their math teacher walked in, and gave a little bow for them. "Welcome back, students." She said grandly, with a gleam in her eye. Kairi never trusted the gleam. It meant something bad was coming.

"Today we'll be having a little pop quiz to see what you remember from last term." She said quickly but succinctly, giving a pause afterwards for all the groans and objections.

When everyone had quieted down, she gave a smile, and began to pass out the half sheet of paper that was the pop quiz to each student. She set it down in front of Kairi, and Kairi saw that it consisted of two pretty straightforward extended algebra applications, with a touch of geometry mixed in. She remembered Riku reviewed a problem like it with her. So, she set to work, trying to figure it out, when she noticed Kuroha staring over at Elyon with a pleading glance.

At first, Elyon ignored her, but then her resolve finally cracked, and she leaned back to stretch, letting Kuroha see her paper when the teacher was looking the other way. Kuroha quickly scribbled down the numbers and equations she saw on Elyon's paper, and then worked the rest out for herself, sighing contentedly. Kairi wondered if she'd even get a good grade on the quiz; it was a pretty hard one to copy unless you really stared at someone else's paper.

After ten minutes, the teacher collected all the papers, and Kuroha winked at Elyon as if they were partners in crime. Elyon half smiled, as if losing the effort halfway through. It seemed that she wasn't as impressed with the outcome of the quiz as Kuroha had been.

After the lesson ended, the bell rang, and their history teacher walked in next. Kairi listened for an aching hour and a half about the trials of the paper industry and environmental concerns for the Destiny Palm that was burdened by the industry's need to cut the palms down. Finally, school ended, and Kairi jumped up in order to exit the classroom. Before she could get too far, though, Kuroha grabbed her arm and pulled her back with an excited smile.

"You're not going to leave tonight, are you?" she said with a gape, and Kairi looked at her in confusion. "Why can't I?" she asked, and Kuroha giggled. "The student council is helping set up for the school fair on Friday!"

"But it's Tuesday." Kairi said flatly, and Kuroha rolled her eyes. "Exactly! We're getting together a color palette for the theme."

"What is the theme?" Kairi asked, making Kuroha clap her hands in excitement. "You should come to the meeting!"

Kairi followed Kuroha out of the classroom in extreme discomfort, looking out the window as she went. She was supposed to go see Sora's house today. She wondered what state Sora's mother was in. Maybe she shouldn't go after all.

Kairi, Kuroha, and Elyon headed towards the meeting room, and Kuroha opened the door, saying hi to everyone that was already seated around the center table as she walked in.

The student council meeting attempted to be serious; as the students conversed passionately about the colors they wanted the banner and streamers for the fair to be, but it was frequently plagued by spurts of gossip on who did what with who over the summer.

"I heard that Tina had sex with a boy!" a second year girl hissed, and a few of the girls around her gasped. Elyon looked at them in indignation. "Can you guys stop gossiping?" she said loudly, and the girls quieted down. "We've got work to do. It's okay to talk about what's going on, but there's a point when it gets too far." The second years looked up at Elyon in extreme admiration, and smiled at one another sheepishly, hurt but impressed.

Elyon then abruptly turned to Kairi. "Kairi, are you thinking of joining Student Council?"

Kairi shook her head. "I just came with you guys."

"Well, it's really fun." Elyon replied. "It's great precedence for the leadership you could pursue when you get into senior high. We've got a responsibility as the eldest in our school to lead the student body."

There was a bit of clapping as she said this, and Kairi already felt like she'd rather be paddling around in the seawater than sitting in the classroom talking about streamers and color palettes. She wondered if Selphie and the guys were at the island right now.

"I'm thinking gold and purple." Elyon said. "Like royalty! We could have the theme be 'supremacy in perfection'."

Kuroha laughed at this, and Elyon looked at her with narrowed eyes. "No! That sounds so torture chamber! Supremacy in perfection? Let's go with gold and pink!"

The boys in the room protested, but Kuroha put on a puppy dog face, and they quickly quieted down, saying that they didn't really mind the color pink after all.

"Do you have anything, Kairi?" Kuroha asked, and Kairi shrugged. "We could do togetherness." She tried in and offhand sort of way, but Kuroha's eyes got really big, as if it was the best thing she'd ever heard. "Go on! What's the color palette?"

"Well, I don't know about colors, but when I think of togetherness, I think of the paopu fruit." Kairi said quietly. She felt unbelievably stupid. "It means that you'll always be together."

"We could do something like 'we're all in this together'!" One of the guys said, and everyone began to get excited. Kuroha seemed to have some reservations, though.

"But aren't we supposed to be showing that 'we're the best'? If it's just all about 'togetherness', then it's not supporting the originality of the clubs!"

"But each club is a community. Together, they're working together to make a difference!" Elyon said, coming to Kairi's defense. Kuroha rolled her eyes without really noticing it, and huffed a little bit. "But we want to show diversity!"

"We could do the colors of the rainbow." One guy suggested, but Kuroha shook her head. "I still like the pink and gold idea."

"Okay, fine." Elyon sighed, closing her eyes. "Why don't we do paopu fruits as our symbol, but they can be pink and gold?"

Kuroha thought about it, and then nodded. "I guess that's fine. But we should make them look like stars instead, to show that everyone is original and has something to contribute."

"They're star shaped already, Kuroha." Elyon said, and Kuroha shrugged, adding, "Well, I'll mention that stuff in the speech we give before the fair starts, just so everyone is on the same page."

"Right." Elyon replied.

The meeting went on without incident, and Kairi mostly looked out the window dreamily, honestly glad that they had not embraced her idea whole-heartedly. She would have felt really invested in the project. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing?

After the meeting ended, Kairi got up to exit the meeting room, but Kuroha stopped her again. "Do you want to come over to my house?" she asked, but Kairi shook her head. Kuroha pouted a little, then smiled. "Come on. You know you want to come over!"

"I actually have a lot of homework to do…" Kairi tried, but Kuroha wouldn't let her off. "Nope." The black beauty said in firm stubbornness. "You are coming over."

Kairi tried to protest, but Kuroha kept combatting her reasons for opting out of the get together. Kairi finally decided to give in, and trudged along after Kuroha back to her house with Elyon. Kuroha seemed very chuffed with her accomplishment, and talked with the spirit of someone who had done a heroic deed. Kairi smiled at intervals of conversation, answering when asked questions, and half listening to everything else. It wasn't that she was trying to be mean, she just didn't know what to say.

Kairi was surprised to see that Kuroha lived in one of the apartment complexes on the south side of the island. From this direction, the dormant volcano in the middle of the mainland blocked the view of the island Kairi and her friends played on. Kuroha fumbled with her keys momentarily upon reaching her door, and finally got it open, letting Kairi and Elyon in. The space was small but quant. Kairi was used to living in a more expansive living space. Though, she remembered Riku had lived in an apartment. Sora's parents had a house near the beach.

"Do you guys ever think of going swimming, or to the island or anything?" Kairi asked, and Elyon and Kuroha shrugged collectively. "I've got to study." Elyon muttered. Kuroha sighed. "I'm too old to be playing games any more. We'll be in senior high next year, anyway. We've got no time to mess around."

"But we're still really young! We're still in junior high!" Kairi reasoned, making Kuroha snort. "Don't remind me."

Then, she walked past Kairi to her dresser, examining her various tubes of nail polish.

"Don't you like being a kid?" Kairi tried. Elyon and Kuroha looked at her like she was crazy.

"No one takes you seriously." Elyon said, and Kuroha nodded, adding, "yeah, and I want to be an adult! I want to get a job and have a boyfriend and stuff."

"But there's a whole world out there!" Kairi said in excitement. "You don't need to have a boyfriend right now! You could have an adventure instead!"

Peals of laughter erupted from Kuroha and Elyon, as they smiled at Kairi's 'naïveté'.

"Kairi, I love you." Kuroha said familiarly, and it shocked Kairi. She didn't know Kuroha very well, and Kuroha most certainly did not know her. If Kairi loved anyone, it was Sora and Riku. Those were the only two people in the world who truly understood her.

Kuroha set out the nail polish almost ceremoniously, with napkins and weird things you put in between your toes to stop paint from getting on them, and little nail pens and glittery nail stickers- she had everything. As Elyon and Kuroha painted elaborate designs on their polished nails, Kairi struggled to even get the first coat on. Kuroha seemed to have it down to an art, taking such care with the nails; like they were each her own little individual works of art- which they were, by the end.

Kairi noticed this, and was intrigued by Kuroha's skill.

"You paint those nails so well." Kairi said shyly, and Kuroha shrugged in a nonchalant way. "My mom used to paint my nails all the time with me. She taught me."

"'Used to'?" Kairi said jokingly. "You say it like she's gone!"

Kuroha's smile faded a little bit, and she continued to paint her nails with extreme care. "She is gone." She murmured, and Kairi fell silent. In a few moments, Kuroha began to hum, and the air in the room became less volatile. Kairi felt humiliated for making such a mistake. She didn't know whether to say 'sorry' or to just leave it, so she left it, choosing to do nothing.

Kuroha chatted more about school and boys and the student council, asking Kairi if she would be joining a club this year.

"You're really good at painting." Kairi said to Kuroha, pointing to her nails. Kuroha looked at her with a strange expression. "Painting a nail isn't the same thing as painting a canvas. Doing that puts pressure on you. Some pressure I can take, but not that pressure. Painting nails is fun for me. It's a distraction from everything." Kuroha explained quietly, transfixed on the drying nails in front of her. Her eyes looked down at the shiny colored sheen that was polished onto her nails with a blank, distant expression.

"That's very good." Kairi said, and Kuroha laughed. "I'm not in the habit of making philosophical statements, but there one is, I guess."

Kairi began to chat more actively in the group, forgetting the time as it went by. When the clock in Kuroha's room read seven, Kairi gasped, and jumped up. "I'm going to be late for dinner!" she cried, and Elyon peered up at her. "You can just have dinner here." Kuroha said.

Kairi shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably, and then shrugged, sighing. "I guess my parents wouldn't really mind."

The three girls had a simple dinner, rice and a few odds and ends Kuroha found in the cupboard, with a desert of paopu sorbet. It wasn't very popular because of its tartness, but Kuroha had always liked it. Kairi thought that it wasn't so bad, either, but Elyon didn't want any of it after two bites. "Well, Elyon." Kuroha said grandly, with a hint of a smile on her lips, "If you don't want the paopu, I'll share it with Kairi, instead!"

Then, she turned to Kairi, and entwined the girl's fingers in her own. "Right, Kairi? We'll be inseparable, forever!"

This made Kairi suddenly melancholy. She pictured Riku and Sora fighting over the paopu, teasing one another, and then Sora, smiling, as she gave him his way finder charm.

"Something wrong, Kairi?" Elyon asked, and Kairi snapped out of it, and looked up at the two girls. "Nothing. I think it's just time for me to go home. It's eight now, I'd like to get to bed early."

Before Kairi got out the door, Kuroha asked her if she wanted to sleep over instead, and Kairi had to set her foot down on that one. She wanted to sleep in her own bed that night, mostly because she was afraid she might get caught crying if she slept with Kuroha and Elyon. She needed to feel like she was somewhere familiar, not lost in a new house. She needed some time to adapt.

….

The fair rolled around in no time, and Kairi found herself more and more invested in its design and execution. She even helped run a stall. As she stood there, aimlessly looking about, she suddenly thought that she would rather be out on the island, kicking sand around and dashing in and out of waves, but there was also that inescapable feeling of being very grown up coursing through her.

She didn't really have adequate knowledge on the other clubs, so when someone came up to her asking her to help them pick one, she just told them that it was their decision to choose for themselves. For some reason, this really resonated with them, and they took it to heart, peeling off on their own to find a club. Well, it made Kairi's job easier.

After two hours of manning the booth, Elyon let her off the hook to look at some clubs of her own. There was a cool creative writing club. There was a rowing club, too. But maybe doing it for a sport would ruin the fun of it. Competition was a natural push-away for Kairi.

The colors of the festival had been set up very nicely, with lots of paper lanterns in pinks and golds, illuminating soft light from their interiors. Kairi mostly took in the sights as she looked around, picking up a few flyers from tables. She didn't really see a club that really caught her interest, though.

Kairi began to peek around inside the school, traversing the empty halls as a bit of an adventure, a reward to herself for staying at the booth so long, for doing so well. The halls seemed so empty, like little ghost towns. Then, when she came to one set of stairs, she heard urgent talking from downstairs.

Deciding against fully revealing herself, Kairi stole a subtle glance down to the bottom of the stairwell, and nearly gasped when she noticed two policemen muttering to her math teacher.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him at any classes this week. I took for granted that he was sick. I should have called his mother though; it was a misstep on my part. Why has it gone so late since she reported?"

"She thought he was staying at a friend's house. On Wednesday she contacted us."

The second voice was a policewoman's. Kairi knew that they were talking about Sora, and she wondered how long it would be until they decided to question her. She was the only one of the three friends who was back at Destiny Islands. And she'd told Sora's mother that Sora had been at Riku's house on Tuesday.

Kairi bolted back down the hallway, away from the staircase, and exited the building, going back into the middle of the fair. She let the lantern lights flood over her and warm her up, and she inhaled the sea air as deeply as she could. Why were things so hard this early? Maybe that was the way of things; they were hard, and then got easy after awhile. She thought that she would be able to hide the facts from Sora's mother, but now she didn't know.

Someone suddenly grabbed Kairi's arm, and she swung around in a fright. It was Selphie, with Wakka and Tidus close behind.

"Hey, Kairi! How are you doing?" Selphie barked, and Kairi nodded breathlessly, putting on a fake smile. Tidus patted her on the shoulder, and Wakka waved at her awkwardly.

"Do you want to have a sleep over tonight, Kairi?" Selphie asked hopefully, and Kairi nodded. "Do your parents mind if Wakka and Tidus stay for awhile?" Selphie asked, and Kairi shook her head. "I hung out with Sora and Riku all the time. Don't worry it'll be fine. I can look after myself."

Selphie laughed a little bit, and then Tidus drew out a fake knife, pretending to stab Kairi in the arm. "I don't know." He said mysteriously. "We're pretty dangerous."

"Not as dangerous as me!" Kairi said, and Tidus let out a scream as Kairi proceeded to chase him into the field behind the school, where the soccer practices were held. Selphie, Kairi and Tidus charged around the field breathlessly, acting like five year olds. Wakka stood on the sidelines at first, trying to be cool, but even he couldn't resist playing around in the end, and peeled after them in excitement.

Then, abruptly, Tidus stopped, and pointed towards the school. "Look at that!" he said in a tone of fearful wonder. Selphie, Kairi and Wakka all turned their heads at the same time, and noticed the police exiting the school. They got on little motorbikes, and rode off into the night.

"Wow." Wakka said incredulously, and Tidus looked nervous and excited at the same time. "I wonder what happened!" he murmured. "Something bad must've happened for the police to be here!"

Selphie bit her lip, thinking about it. Then, she turned to Kairi. "Kairi, thoughts?"

"I don't know either!" Kairi said, wondering if she sounded too eager. She hoped she didn't. Selphie and the others didn't seem to notice anything, and they talked about the incident for a little while, before deciding to pack in the game.

"Do you want me to wait for you, Kairi?" Selphie asked, and Kairi shook her head. "I'll meet you at your house if you give me the address."

"Sure!" Selphie responded, and scribbled the address onto the back of Kairi's hand. "See you soon!" she added, and she and the boys were off home.

Kairi returned to the fair to help clean up, and managed to escape Kuroha and Elyon before they asked her to come with them to a sleep over again. She trudged up to Selphie's house, and settled down into Selphie's bedroom, which was a bit of a plush nightmare.

There were stuffed animals of every size _everywhere, _so much so that you couldn't move your feet without stepping on one. Selphie liked to pile them into little chair type structures and snuggle into them with a blanket on the floor. She encouraged everyone else to do it, too, not particularly successful in Wakka's respect. Tidus and Wakka started off talking about blitzball, their new craze.

"How is the high school team?" Tidus asked, and Wakka shrugged. "I think that I'm becoming one of the better ones. We're pretty good, though. We can only play mini-games because we don't have any rivals, though." He added dejectedly. Tidus nodded. "Yeah, that does defeat the purpose."

Selphie threw an old blitzball that Tidus left under her bed at him, and he caught it easily, throwing it to Wakka and beginning a back and forth game of ball. All four tried to catch and throw as fast as they could for a little while, before Tidus nearly knocked out Selphie's palm lamp that she had gotten for her birthday. The game came to a pretty abrupt stop then.

The talk quickly came back to the police at school, but Kairi successfully whined everyone out of the subject. Then, somehow, the talk evolved around Sora and Riku.

"Riku was always cool." Tidus sighed. "I bet Sora thought so, too."

"He loved Riku, admired him undoubtedly." Kairi replied. "But there was a lot of competition, too. It was fun to tease both of them, especially Sora. Sometimes he could be so serious!"

"Tidus and Wakka are the exact same!" Selphie piped up excitedly, nudging Tidus affectionately on the shoulder. "Can't get the two off of one another!"

There were minor protests from both boys, but the conversation took another turn, and then another, before everyone began to become tired. Tidus got to the point where he just conked out without even being able to get home. Wakka rolled his eyes, and picked the boy up. "I'll drop him off at his house. See you guys later."

"He can stay with us!" Selphie said, but Wakka snorted. He just shook his head like she was crazy, and left with Tidus.

Selphie seemed strangely affected by this, and she curled up into her plush animals, and narrowed her eyes as Wakka left the room with Tidus.

"It's hard having him as a friend." She murmured, and Kairi looked at her with surprise. "Maybe it was the same with Riku." Selphie added, almost to herself, before continuing, "Wakka does such strange things sometimes. Ever since he got into senior high, he became uncomfortable with having sleepovers anymore, especially with me. I think he thinks we're too young for him, now. I think senior high has made him weird." She added. Kairi shrugged. "But he's only fifteen, and you guys are thirteen! That's only two years!"

"It'd be okay if we were ten and he was twelve, but something happens between thirteen and fourteen, or maybe fourteen and fifteen, where any age beneath you seems too young for you to associate with. It's like a tapestry or something."

Kairi was dubious as to whether the word 'tapestry' was the right term for what Selphie was trying to get across, but she stayed silent anyway, because Selphie felt like she'd said something intelligent. Maybe it was wrong to leave Selphie in the dark, but Kairi didn't know the correct term either, so it would be stupid to try and correct her.

"I don't really think Riku was that way, though." Kairi murmured. "Maybe he was afraid of becoming that way. Maybe that was why he wanted to leave."

"Oh yeah, he wanted to build that raft!" Selphie said, nodding in remembrance. "That was funny. You guys were so invested in it. Too bad you guys didn't get to see other worlds."

Kairi looked at Selphie strangely, thinking how ironic the situation was. She wished that Selphie had have been able to see other worlds. She would've been able to appreciate it.

The two girls talked for a little bit longer, before they finally turned the lights out, and fell asleep.

…..

In Kairi's dream, she was in a white room. It was completely white, as if shadows didn't even reside in it. Then, the paint on the walls began to char and peel off, blackening with heat. Smoke began to enter her throat, and she coughed, finding it hard to breathe.

Then, she saw the fire.

It rose up the walls like lightning, engulfing everything in its path in red flame. As the fire grew higher and higher, Kairi crouched down in the middle of the room to protect her head, scared stiff. She could hear the walls coming down, and a cold wind blowing through the room, wailing at her, as if it was weeping.

She waited a few moments to look around, and then she peeked out from between her knees, slowly standing up to look around her. She gasped. Everything was black. It was so dark that she couldn't make out anything around her, except that it was raining.

Then, a figure stirred in the darkness, and moved towards Kairi.

"Kairi!" it called out, in Sora's voice. "Kairi!" it looked like a shadow, but its voice was just like Sora's. Kairi ran towards it, opening her arms out.

"I'm here, Sora! Come back!"

The figure ran towards her, stumbling as it went. It was skinny and small, not fully formed yet. It ran into Kairi's arms, and nuzzled its face into her chest. Kairi felt happy. Then, the figure looked up at her, and Kairi's blood froze.

The figure was herself, but clothed in a sheet of black. It's hair, lashes, eyebrows, clothing, was all a black, like the abyss around Kairi. Kairi dared to look into its eyes, and saw Sora's bright blue irises stare back out at her.

….

Kairi woke up wailing, with Selphie over her head trying to shake her. The young girl looked worried. Kairi noticed that her own bedclothes and pajamas were dripping with sweat. She mopped the sweat off her forehead in exhaustion, and sat up in bed, breathing out a sigh of relief that the dream was over.

"That seemed awful." Selphie sad, a little shaken, but Kairi shook her head. "It was just strange. I just hope Sora's okay." She added.

To her surprise, Selphie patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sure Sora is doing just great. He's always getting into mischief, but he never gets into any real trouble!" she added, laughing a little bit. This made Kairi laugh, and she wrote off the dream as nothing to worry about.

The next day was a Saturday, and Kairi, Selphie and the boys all played on the beach. By evening when they returned home, they noticed swarms of police around Sora's house.

Kairi stopped abruptly, for just a second, before moving on quickly, not wanting to stay in front of the scene in case someone stopped her and asked her questions. She would have to practice valid, believable answers.

Tidus tried to linger, but Selphie shoved him along, and they all continued their journey home. Kairi invited her mother into her bedroom that night to talk to her as she fell asleep, afraid that she would have a bad dream again. She didn't want to worry her parents, too, let alone Selphie.


	3. Week 2

Kairi sat in her bed for a little while, looking out her window. She had parted ways with Sora and landed on Destiny Islands two days before school started. So she landed on a Saturday. Nine days had passed since Hollow Bastion.

Kairi sighed, realizing that she couldn't stay tucked under her covers forever, and got out of bed, stretching extravagantly. Then, she got her uniform to go take a shower.

She set her towel and clothes down on the floor, put the bath mat down, and hopped in, turning on the water. She closed her eyes as if fell over her, running down her face and through her hair. On Sunday, Sora and Riku were _both _on the news as missing.

Kairi had rehearsed several answers that she could tell the police, but none of them were as good at what would have been the truth- or at least, what was partially the truth, metaphorically. She wanted to be as truthful as she could. She'd tell them that the last time she'd talked to them, they'd said that they were getting ready to go on the raft. Then, things got a little chaotic with the storm, and they parted ways. Kairi would say that they thought maybe Kairi wasn't cut out to stay around with them, and unbeknownst to her, when _she _thought they were having a sleepover, _they _were really escaping Destiny Islands on their raft.

She got out of the shower, dried off, put her uniform on, brushed her hair, and went down to the kitchen to eat breakfast. She found that she was too nervous to stomach much of anything food wise, and instead had some tea to soothe her nerves. Kairi's mother was off shopping again, and her father was somewhere on business.

As she drank, there was a knock on the door, and she nearly jumped out of her seat. She went over to the front door nervously, and squinted out through the peephole to see whom it was. Her mother had always told her not to let a man into the house, even if they were dressed as policemen, just in case. Kairi wondered why.

Luckily, it was just their gardener, a feeble but skilled old woman. Kairi let her in shyly, and the woman thanked Kairi warmly, and went out into the backyard to begin working on their 'fall flowers' as Kairi's mother used to call them. Kairi's mother wanted colorful flowers for every season, so she mixed all of the seasonal flowers in together so that the whole garden would be colorful at any given point in the year. Though, there wasn't much snow in Destiny Islands during winter. Kairi had never seen it in her lifetime, so she didn't really know what it looked like, but she'd seen drawings of it in her history books. She wondered if it snowed in Hollow Bastion. She wished she'd seen the outside of it.

Kairi finished her tea, brushed her teeth, and charged out the door to the school. As she walked, she noticed Kuroha and Elyon were not around. Maybe they had gone to school early for a meeting or something. Kairi suddenly felt a little nervous walking out alone. She half expected a heartless to jump out at her.

Kairi chuckled as she walked, shaking her head. She expected not to see any heartless, not after everything that had happened.

A slight wind wisped past her, blowing her hair to the side a little bit. She looked at the tips of it intently, wondering if she should get it cut soon. It seemed that it hadn't grown that much while she had been comatose.

She finally reached the school, breathed out a sigh of relief as she noticed that kids were in fact going into it. Kuroha and Elyon must have been at a meeting or something. Maybe the Student Council was arranging something special.

The first bell rang, and everyone filed up to their classrooms. There was usually a uniform check by the teachers before the first class, but oddly enough, no one was doing it. Kairi's mind must have been playing tricks on her as to what was going on, because her imagination was running wild and she was beginning to get nervous.

"I can't believe they didn't even look at our skirts," One girl said. One of the class clowns experimented, and strolled past a teacher walking by with his shirt unbuttoned to the waist. The teacher didn't even look at him, rushing past like they had something on their mind. The class clown walked back into class triumphantly, puffing out his chest. Everyone laughed a little, but nerves had begun to settle in. If the teachers missed something that obvious, then something was wrong.

"I picked a good day to wear makeup," Another girl tried, but the laughs were less numerous at this one. Everyone began to settle down, whispering loudly about what might be going on.

"I think the Student Council kids aren't in their classes," people were whispering, which made perfect sense. Kuroha and Elyon were nowhere to be seen. Kairi noticed a good number of the kids looking at her, and she bent her head down in discomfort, knowing the reason why she had suddenly become so interesting.

The volume of the whispering grew and grew, until their first period teacher walked into the classroom, hushing everyone up.

Silence was heavy in the classroom as the teacher quickly got together her roll sheet, calling out the student's names one by one. She looked a little nervous herself- but in a more knowing way then the students.

"Simon?" she called, and one of the boys in the back of the class raised their hand.

"Afsha?" Another girl shot her hand up, and then put it back down. Everyone began to look around the classroom to see who was missing.

"Ayumu? Sinead? Daisuke? Haru? Elyon is with the student council, and so is Kuroha… Kai-" The teacher paused on that name, stumbling on it a little bit, and Kairi peeked out from between her fingers, trying not to feel the many eyes that had fallen on her.

"Kairi?" the teacher called finally, and Kairi raised her hand a little bit, and then put it back down. The teacher moved on through the rest of the class, looking in vain for Sora when it appeared that he was not in the classroom again.

When the roll was finished, the teacher put down her clipboard, and returned her glance to the class in front of her. Clasping her hands in front of her, she took a little breath, and smiled at them.

"Good morning, class!" she said, and the class returned the wish.

"Just so you're not all in the dark, there's going to be a short assembly this morning about recent goings-on in the news that I'm sure a number of you are familiar with. Just so you are all aware, it is nothing to get excited over, the Assembly will probably eat up first period, but rest assured the rest of your day will be fine."

The class gave some smiles of approval, but no one cheered like they would have if the circumstances had have been different.

Sure enough, an administrator's voice soon projected across the intercom, calling all students to the auditorium that was shared with the senior high. Everyone went downstairs to their lockers to collect their jackets and shoes, and got ready to walk across the street and down the road.

As they exited the school and turned the corner onto the sidewalk, they saw the senior high school students coming out of their school across the street. No doubt the primary school students were filing into their own school's gym right now, for their own assembly on the subject at hand.

The senior high and junior high meshed together at this point, and the teachers tried to get their own students back together into their own individual classes so that no one would go missing. Everyone finally reached the auditorium gates, and everyone went inside the building in order of name, class and grade level.

"If you purposefully break order you will get into deep trouble!" one of the teachers shouted at a few students trying to rearrange themselves, and the kids looked on in surprise, not used to the suddenness of the outburst.

Everyone sat down, and waited for the auditorium to start. The solemn faces of the student councils for the junior and senior high stared over their heads. Kairi didn't know if them sitting up on the stage was symbolic of something, or if they were actually planning on saying something. The administrators were pacing around the sides of the stage, occasionally talking to each other and generally trying to organize what was going on.

The principal stepped up to the middle of the stage where a microphone was placed, and stood there, trying to quiet everyone down. He looked out at the crowd for a moment, before beginning.

"Now, whenever something disheartening happens in our wonderful Destiny Islands, we try to be the first to inform the students of the true nature of the happenings, to shield them from the sensationalizing by news agencies and the general way in which truths become myths as they are passed around from person to person." He added with the slightest of a melancholy smile. Kairi breathed out a sigh of irritation; it wasn't like Sora and Riku had _died _or something. They were treating this like a memorial service.

"I am sure that most of you have heard about the disappearance of two students, one from the high school, Riku Hashimoto, and one from the junior high, Sora Nomura. They were apparently last seen on Sunday. Sora's mother thought that Sora was sleeping over at Riku's."

"Who would think that their kid was sleeping over at someone's house for a week?" A boy in front of Kairi whispered, and the girl beside him nodded in disgust. "Such a terrible mother."

Kairi's fingers curled into her palms, and she looked away from the kids. They couldn't have known that Sora was friends with Kairi; they were in a completely different class to her and probably didn't even know who she was at all. They continued to talk about it quietly in front of Kairi, making tears well up in her eyes. People could be so mean. The principal introduced the police chief to make a brief summary of the events that had occurred over the last week.

"As said previously, Riku Hashimoto and Sora Nomura were last seen on Sunday, in the early morning, playing on the island. What happened in the span from Sunday to Wednesday when Sora's mother reported her son missing, we cannot clearly define. But we do know this. Riku and Sora frequently slept over with each other for days at a time, spending nights on the island just off the mainland, in one of the old huts there. Sora's mother did not believe something was wrong until Wednesday, after visiting Riku's mother. The boys have not been found yet, and we ask that if any of you students have seen or heard of them, know of any place that they could possibly be- because we presume them to be together- or know of anyone who would know what happened, please tell us where so that we can more easily locate them. Thank you."

The police chief inferior stepped up to the stage to give safety tips that would help keep the youth of Destiny Islands safer in the days to come.

"In terms of geographical safety. Do not go swimming when the tides are high. Do not leave the mainland during a storm. Small children under the age of ten or those without proper rowing and swimming capacity should not go to the island without an adult, no matter how many children are with you. It is suggested that for each small child, there should be one trusted adult buddy. Children under the age of sixteen should have at least three peers along with them with excellent rowing and swimming capacity, and each person should have a buddy. You should know the whereabouts of your buddy at all times. Children over the age of sixteen with excellent swimming and rowing capacities are permitted to go with one other person, preferably two…"

The children in the auditorium had been fed this information before every vacation in the school's farewell assemblies, to make sure the kids stayed safe near the ocean. Every child in the audience knew these guidelines by heart. Some of the guidelines were not followed in their entirety, just because they were so stringent, but none of them were downright ignored. There were multiple stories of children being carried off by rogue waves, or who rowed during storms and got caught out at sea.

Then, the inferior turned the page he was reading from, and cleared his throat for another set of guidelines.

"These are defensive guidelines. No child, no matter what age, should walk to and from school alone, especially early in the morning and late at night. Everyone needs to designate a buddy that they are with at all times. Girls, if you have a male friend that you know and trust completely, it is wise to designate him your buddy."

The girls looked around them sheepishly; designating in their minds which male they'd _want_ to be their buddies. It seemed like some weren't taking the matter very seriously, because a few giggles erupted from various parts of the audience.

"If you are at home alone, do not open the door for anyone. If the person is a policeman, ask them to slide their badge under the door before you let them in the house. Close your windows and keep the doors locked…"

As the guidelines became more intense, implying that these guidelines were in case a human being was out to hurt, not just if nature was out to hurt, people began to get uncomfortable. The last time someone had disappeared like that in Destiny Islands had not been for a long time.

The policeman finished reading the guidelines, gave a slight bow, and exited the stage, leaving the microphone open for the principal to return to it.

The man paused for a moment, and then smiled a little bit, opening his hands out as if collecting everyone into a great hug.

"I know that all of this may be overwhelming to you all, and might even scare you a little bit. But we don't want you all to be afraid. We just want you to be cautious," as he said this, he held his arm out, slowly pointing from the right side of the room to the left. "I want you to look at the people around you, look at your peers. This is the best time to make them feel like they are part of a community. Don't let anyone get stuck on their own. Be kind, and be generous. Thank you all."

The student council held hands during the last piece of the principal's little speech, and then let go of each other after the man finished and exited the stage. They stayed behind to talk some more with the police, and the rest of the students began filing out of the auditorium again to go to class.

Kairi felt slightly irritated for some reason. Normally she was a very laidback person, she took everything in strides. But things had seemed to change. She wondered if it was solely Sora being gone, or if something else was on her mind. Maybe when Sora returned her heart to her, something had messed up. She felt like something wasn't entirely right with her- on the inside. In her heart. Something was gone. Maybe it was Sora and Riku. Maybe they had become an inseparable part of her heart, and now that they were gone, she wasn't whole anymore. But was that the problem in its entirety? It was a strange situation.

Perhaps her irritation stemmed mainly from the way Sora and Riku's disappearance was being treated. It was like the minute anything dramatic happened; everyone had to go the full mile. Kairi felt like jumping up in front of everyone in that auditorium and shouting to them that Sora and Riku were just fine- better than anyone else in Destiny Islands were doing. These people Kairi was around had the nerve to feel _sorry _for Sora and Riku, who were part of the greatest adventure any human being could ever hope to be involved in. They were living a dream.

Living a dream. Or living in a dream?

Kairi pushed this thought out of her head suddenly and aggressively, like vomiting up something vile. How could she have thought up something that stupid? She wished she could be running around with Sora and Riku. But, perhaps she would have hindered them. Kairi decided that her brain was just frantic from everything that had happened- it was going in crazy directions.

Everyone finally reached the school, and they all went to their lockers, replacing their walking shoes with their slippers, and taking their jackets off before putting them back into the lockers, locking them up, and going back to the classrooms in tight groups. Kairi felt a hand on her shoulder when she was near her locker, and when she turned around she was shocked to see that a swarm of girls from her class and a few others were around her.

"You wanna walk back with us?" someone she didn't recognize said, and the girl who had her hand on Kairi's shoulder nodded. "We shouldn't be leaving each other alone, right?" she added, and Kairi nodded slowly, beginning to walk with them.

A few people were looking at her intently that she didn't know; she dreaded the possibility that rumors were already spreading about her and her friends. She didn't want anyone swarming around her asking her if she was okay, because she was perfectly fine.

Class went on in a strange frame of time; everyone was so preoccupied that no one- not even the teacher- got much done. At the end of second period, their language teacher apologized for being so erratic, saying that she probably wouldn't be at the top of her game again until the end of the week.

Lunch rolled around, and Kairi dashed off before anyone could follow her. She was trying to locate Selphie or Tidus so that she could sit with them, but she couldn't find them anywhere without running into a bunch of people staring at her. How did everyone know so quickly about her being friends with Sora and Riku?!

"Kairi!" someone called, and Kairi tried to ignore them, but another girl stepped in front of her to try and say 'sorry' about what had happened to her friends, and so Kairi was stuck. She turned around, and a boy came up to her. "The principal wants you in his office," the boy said, with a hint of curiosity in his voice, but Kairi would not give him any information on the matter. Nodding, she turned around and went to the principal's office silently, trying not to wring her hands together in anxiety.

….

Before Kairi could knock on the principal's door, a policeman opened it and let her in. She sat down uncomfortably in front of the principal, who looked at her sadly.

"First of all, Kairi, I just received word from a student that you and the missing boys were very close," he explained, adding, "I am very sorry for your loss."

"Don't get too excited," Kairi mumbled, trying to joke, but it came out wrong and the principal gave her a disapproving expression.

"I believe that the experience of a police station is a detriment to a young person's state of mind, so I have suggested that the detectives question you in a safe environment, like this one." He paused, as if waiting for Kairi to respond, but she didn't know what to say. This was in no way a 'safe place', only troublemakers got sent to the principal's office, and they were basically interrogated there, too.

"Would you like me to leave the room while they speak with you?" the principal asked, and Kairi nodded slowly.

Two of the policemen filed out of the room with the principal, leaving the detective in with Kairi. The woman sat down in front of her, and looked at her with a smile. Kairi decided that the woman didn't seem that bad after all.

"Hi, Kairi," she said, holding out her hand for Kairi to shake. "I'm Detective Smith."

"Hello, detective," Kairi mumbled in return, and Smith looked down at her with the same smile she had on before.

"How long have you been friends with Sora and Riku?" Smith asked, and Kairi shrugged. "Ever since I came to Destiny Islands. Since I was six."

Smith nodded, scribbling this down. "So, they were last seen on Sunday, in the early morning. Someone said that they were rowing to the island with you, is that correct?"

"Yeah!" Kairi said, nodding. "We were building a raft," She added. "And we couldn't go to the island during the storm, so we were a little behind on the construction side. We were a bit lazy, too…" she added affectionately, remembering Riku scolding them for falling asleep on the job.

The detective looked at Kairi curiously, before scribbling in her notebook again. "Riku and Sora didn't go back home. Why did you return home?"

Kairi had memorized her story by heart, and launched into it, trying to sound as sure as possible. "Riku and Sora said that they had to discuss some stuff before we set off. I said I was tired and I went home."

"Are you saying that you think they left the island?" the detective asked cautiously, but Kairi shrugged. "Maybe they stayed the night on the island, and went back home during Monday. Sora's mother works during the day, so she didn't see him until he came back from school."

"Did you notice anything unusual about the boys on Sunday?" the detective asked, and this made Kairi pause.

"Well, we were just talking about our raft, as usual… then, the began to say something along the lines of 'it'll be a really dangerous journey.' And I said we'd always be together. And then, they said that it might be too dangerous for me, and…" Kairi stumbled on the last part, looking at her fingernails intently.

"And you think that they left you behind?" Smith finished for her, and Kairi nodded. But Sora _did _leave her behind. She thought she wasn't too beat up about it before, but she suddenly thought that she could have gone with him! They said that they'd always be together…

"So, you said that maybe Riku and Sora stayed the night on the island on Sunday, went back to their homes on Monday, why would they have gone back home?"

"To pack," Kairi said quickly, remembering how they had gone home to pack the day of the storm. Sora had wanted to avoid his mother seeing him come out of the house with all his stuff, so he'd tried to pack it all up before she'd come home from work. Riku had probably done the same thing the day that Destiny Islands was submerged in darkness.

"So, you guys played together on the island on Sunday, they stayed on the island while you went home. They returned home from the island the next day to pack up their belongings for their trip, and then they went _back _to the island on Monday, and left on Monday night, or Tuesday morning."

"They would have left early Monday morning. It's bad to start a journey in the dark," Kairi replied, and the detective nodded, agreeing with its logic.

"Well, this theory means that some of Riku and Sora's things would be missing from their rooms. And the raft would be gone."

Kairi's hairs prickled up on her skin as this was said; she didn't know if Sora and Riku had brought their things from their houses to the island when they were getting ready to leave. She suspected that they hadn't.

Kairi figured that the best thing to do would be to keep quiet. The more she tried changing the story, the more people would suspect that something strange was going on.

And had the raft gone? Kairi hadn't seen it on the island when she first got back to Destiny Islands. So at least that stood for something. But would they rule out the possibility of the taking the raft and escaping just because Sora and Riku forgot to bring their clothes along?

"Is there anything else that you can tell us regarding your friends?" the detective asked, and Kairi thought about it. "I don't think so, ma'am," Kairi finally said, "but I will tell you if I think of anything else."

Smith looked at her with the slightest hint of pity, and smiled a little bit. "Don't worry, Kairi, we'll find them. They couldn't have gone far."

Kairi stopped herself from laughing at this. It would have been a disaster if she'd laughed.

Smith scribbled down a few more notes, and nodded to herself. "I'll need you to come down to the station and say that again for the records," Smith said, looking up, "do you think you could testify if it came down to it?"

Kairi's palms began to sweat, and she shrugged, looking down at her hands, trying to wipe them subtly on her skirt. Smith patted her on the shoulder, and Kairi jumped a little bit, making Smith take her hand off for a moment.

"I know this is hard for you, Kairi," Smith murmured. "But you just need to work with us." She looked at Kairi closely, before exiting the room without a goodbye. Kairi immediately wondered if she'd acted suspicious in any way. She hoped she hadn't. She'd never dreamed that her friends' absences would be this hard to cope with. Kairi felt like she'd killed someone.

The principal walked back into the office, and signaled for Kairi to stay seated so that he could talk with her.

"I heard that you were a bit nervous talking to the investigator," the man began, and Kairi nodded, wondering why he needed to know.

"I want you to know, Kairi, that if you ever have any trouble, you can come tell me," the principal added, touching his heart slightly. Kairi got a fake vibe from the man.

"Thanks," Kairi mumbled, and waited to be told that she could leave. There was silence for a moment, and Kairi looked back down at her hands as the lack of noise saturated the room. Then, the principal coughed, and waved at Kairi to leave.

"You can go to class," he said, "remember what I said- if you need anything, just come and see me," he advised, and Kairi stood up, bowed, and left.

Kairi bent her head a little when she passed Detective Smith, feeling suddenly nervous and self-conscious. Once she was out of the investigators' sight, she was able to breath again.

Walking down the hallway, Kairi ran her fingers along the wall, trailing them in zigzags as she went. She began to hum a little bit, and took a detour on her way to class, wandering around the halls a little bit. She wondered if anything would happen so that school would be let out early sometime.

Kairi skipped down to the lunchroom and peeked her head to see if anyone was still down there, but it was just the lunch ladies cleaning up the food that had been left over from the serving tables. One almost met eyes with Kairi, but Kairi ducked her head a little bit, and ran out before the woman could call out to her. Kairi wondered how long it would take until all of this 'curiosity' ended and everyone went back to their daily routines. It was exhausting trying to keep a straight face with everything that was going on.

Kairi tried to keep her head low for the rest of the day, attempted to the best of her ability to keep the eyes that stared at her out of her mind.

….

It was already Thursday. The detectives had not talked to Kairi for a while, and she wondered if they had been to Sora's house to figure out about the stuff he was supposed to have brought on the raft. Kairi couldn't sleep a wink thinking about it. What if they thought that she was lying? She would become a suspect.

But it had all just been conjecture, what she'd said. The raft was definitely gone, even if nothing else was. That stood for something, at least.

The last bell rang, and Kairi got up from her desk, trying to beat the crowd out the door, but Kuroha stopped her again.

"Hey, Kairi!" she bubbled, getting close to Kairi so that she wouldn't get away. "Do you want to come to Elyon's house after school?"

"Uh…" Kairi began, and pursed her lips. She hadn't really planned on going anywhere. Going to the island with Selphie would have been fun, though.

"We've never been to your house, Kairi," Kuroha added shyly, as if she was treading on unstable ground.

"Maybe some other time," Kairi mumbled, trying to think of an excuse so that she could go home. Then, she got one.

"I'm really sorry, Kuroha," she said, putting on a bit of a wistful gaze, "but I'm going to see Sora's mother today."

Kuroha clamped her mouth shut, and put her forefinger over it, indicating that she wouldn't go talking about it to everyone. She patted Kairi on the shoulder, and went off to find Elyon. Kairi went out of the classroom, and jogged down the road ahead of anyone who would try to walk with her. Then, she heard a boy call her name behind her. Looking back, she noticed Wakka coming out of the high school and running towards her. For a second, she thought about shooting off ahead of him and trying to lose him, but she advised herself against it, and waited for him.

The young man smoothed his hair back as he went over to her, and fixed up his uniform a bit, trying to be subtle about it.

"Hey, Kairi," he mumbled, and Kairi smiled and waved at him. "Hi Wakka. How are you doing?"

"I'm good," he shrugged, "I just didn't want you to have to walk home on your own. Not with what's been happening and all."

"I don't think it was a person who swept Sora and Riku away," Kairi replied bluntly, and Wakka raised his eyebrows in interest. "What do you think happened?"

"They wanted to go out to sea. Maybe they did," Kairi said. Wakka nodded to himself. "Yeah, they were trying to build that raft, right?" he chuckled a little sadly.

"I'm sure they're okay," Kairi responded confidently, looking out of the corner of her eye to see what Wakka's reaction was. He didn't do anything, really, just kind of stared ahead as if deep in thought.

"You look a little bit lost sometimes, I mean nowadays," Wakka continued, still looking ahead.

"I feel lost these days," Kairi mumbled in return. "But I think I'm getting a little better. I've got to become more independent," she added with a chuckle. Wakka shrugged. "It's always good to have someone watching your back." Then, he smiled at her meaningfully. When Kairi didn't respond, Wakka coughed a little bit, and got closer to her. "If you ever need someone to talk to, you can come to me," he elaborated. "I know that Selphie and Tidus are real kiddy, but I'm not anymore. If you need someone in between, who understands the way you feel, I'm here."

Kairi suddenly felt irritated with Wakka. What was wrong with Selphie and Tidus being 'kiddy'? At least kids were genuine. They didn't try to hide what they were feeling from Kairi; they were honest with her. That was the way Sora always was. He was honest. Riku sometimes got into phases where he'd be so sad and inconsolable; he would have to go off by himself to sort things out. And even then, when he tried to do everything himself, he couldn't feel better until he had his friends by his side.

The feeling that Kairi got from Elyon, and Kuroha, and now Wakka, too, was that hiding thing. All of them were hiding behind something because they didn't like the way that things were for them.

"I'm still a kid. So I think I'll converse with the kids," Kairi said simply, and walked ahead of him a little bit. Wakka waited for a few seconds, and then trudged after her silently. That was the way things were for the rest of the walk, and Kairi started up some simple conversation after a little while, trying to lighten things up. She talked about how the ocean was getting more and more fish to come in closer to the shore, and she chatted about the island and about Selphie and Tidus, and Sora and Riku. But after a while she realized that Wakka was not saying much in return. He looked a little sulky. Kairi didn't know if he was mad at her for what she'd said before, or if he was mad about her talking about Sora so much. It was probably a bit of both. So, Kairi quieted down, and they started talking about school, and clubs, and Wakka's blitzball. He got enthusiastic about that, and started to explain the ins and outs of the game to Kairi.

"It's all about the swimming technique, you know? You've got to be really careful with the currents and all," he added, indicating waves with his hand, "you can't let them take you by surprise, because it won't just distract you, it'll mess up your breathing."

"That sounds complicated," Kairi replied, and Wakka nodded, chuckling. "Yeah it is, but you gotta love it!"

Wakka seemed genuinely taken with blitzball, he got a little bit of the familiar child like giddiness in his eyes as he got more in depth into it, and Kairi began to wonder if Sora would have played the game in high school. He probably would have been pretty good at it.

"You seem really deep in thought," Wakka said suddenly, and Kairi looked up at him in surprise, shrugging. "Oh, I'm not really thinking about anything in particular…"

"Are you thinking about Sora?" Wakka replied sharply. Kairi paused before nodding slowly. Wakka pursed his lips at this, and nodded to himself as if in confirmation. He quieted down for a moment, thinking of something to say, and then he continued saying bits and pieces about school, asking Kairi questions in order to keep the dying conversation going. Eventually, they came upon Sora's mother's house, and Kairi smiled at Wakka, who looked surprised.

"Are we not going to your house?" he asked blankly. Kairi shook her head, and waved goodbye to him, going up to Sora's front door. She knocked on it, and waited for someone to answer. There was the sound of pattering feet, slow moving, and then a latch coming undone. Sora's mother opened the door ever so slightly, and when she saw that it was only Kairi, she breathed out a sigh of relief, and unlatched the door completely, opening it wide for Kairi to come in.

Kairi looked back at the sidewalk where Wakka was still waiting expectantly if not a little hopelessly, and waved at him again, saying a final goodbye. To her surprise, he walked up the pathway and up to Sora's doorstep where Kairi was standing.

"I can walk you to school if you'd like," he said suddenly, and Kairi blinked, taken aback. She shrugged, and smiled. "Yeah, we can all walk together," she replied finally, and Wakka looked puzzled. "I mean Selphie and Tidus," Kairi replied, and Wakka's shoulders fell. "Yeah, of course," he mumbled, and shrugged, smiling a little bit. "See you tomorrow, Kairi," he said finally, and parted ways with her.

Then, she walked into Sora's mother's house again. The windows were open as usual, and the sea air filled the house and settled Kairi's nerves. At least Sora's mother was still taking on her usual day-to-day activities. Kairi tried to take a discreet peek in Sora's room, but Sora's mother saw her from down the hall and went down to her, looking into the room with her.

"They said that a few things from his room were missing," Sora's mother said. Kairi's heart nearly stopped, and she turned around with eyes wide with fright. "What was missing?" she asked incredulously. Sora's mother went over to his desk, and looked around it, as if trying to place her thoughts materially.

"There was an old beach ball apparently- and his swimsuit. And floss," she finished in a slight mumble, with a puzzled expression on her face. Kairi breathed out, almost in a sigh of relief. At least the stuff wasn't stuff he was planning on taking with him on the raft. That would have been uncanny and creepy, now that she thought of it. It would make things so much less concrete for her.

"You know, that's stuff that he brought with him everywhere," Kairi said, trying to console Sora's mother, but this comment seemed to scare her a little bit. "If he was just doing something daily, than that means that he wasn't off…"

"He could have been out on his boat or something," Kairi tried, and Sora's mother breathed in and out deeply. "You're right. My mind is going crazy, thinking of different things that could have gone wrong."

Sora's mother abruptly went back into the kitchen and busied herself at the stove, putting on some hot water. "Things have just been so insane lately. Can you believe how long this has been going on?" she said shakily, laughing with a lack of sureness in her voice. "I just want him to come home already. I've decided I won't be mad with him at all when he comes home. A few days ago, I may have told him off, but now I don't care where he's been as long as he's back in this house."

Kairi clung onto the kitchen table in front of her, looking ahead steadily. Clouds were moving in from the sea. There would probably be a bit of a thunderstorm tonight. Sora's mother noticed it too, and she sighed, rubbing her eyes.

"So, Kairi, how is school?" she asked, making Kairi some tea. Kairi shrugged. "It's decent."

"Are people noticing you more?" Sora's mother asked quietly, and Kairi nodded. "Yeah," she mumbled, shuffling her feet under the table.

"You know that raft you and Sora were building, Kairi?" Sora's mother inquired suddenly. Kairi almost held her breath, waiting for what was coming next.

"Do you actually think that Sora would have gone away on it? Do you think he hated Destiny Islands that much?" she asked. There was silence for a moment as Kairi tried to think of what to say, and as Sora's mother waited in earnest. "I think…" Kairi began, pursing her lips a little bit before continuing, "I think that Sora wouldn't have done anything because of hatred. He would have been really… curious…"

Sora's mother chuckled at this, sitting down at the table too with some tea. "He was always so naïve. He thought he could become a 'hero'. Maybe I egged him on a little bit. One day I had been crying, and Sora asked me what was wrong. And I said that my hero was gone. So Sora said he'd be my hero. He said that whenever I was said. I got sad too much. It must have been tiring for him…"

There was a pregnant pause as Kairi sat in front of Sora's mother awkwardly. The seemingly frail woman in front of her seemed to notice this too, and she twiddled her fingers, before twirling strands of her hair between her thumbs in slight embarrassment. "As I said before, I've become messy these days," she finally piped up, laughing again, in lightness that covered deep worry.

The awkward pause came yet again, and Sora's mother decided to go up to the window and look outside at the clouds that were coming in faster and faster. Strong waves could barely be seen out on the horizon, crashing into each other violently. "This may be a bad one," Sora's mother said pensively, and then turned to Kairi, getting the girl's coat and fixing it on her chair. "You might want to leave soon, love. I wouldn't want you walking home in such bad weather," Then, Sora's mother put her hand over her mouth, gasping a little bit. "I can't let you walk home alone!"

"I'm completely fine walking alone," Kairi replied, trying to mask her exasperation, but Sora's mother would not have it. "No, I can't possibly let that happen. I've got to have you home safely. You've got to let me know when you get home. What about that boy that was taking you home?"

"I don't have his phone number," Kairi mumbled, getting her bags together quickly in the hopes that she could slip out. She really didn't want to upset Sora's mother anymore, though.

"Oh, crap!" Sora's mother said under her breath, scratching her head. Then, she turned around and put her hands on Kairi's shoulders. "You can stay the night here, alright?"

"Oh, it's fine, ma'am," Kairi tried to say, but Sora's mother shook her head. "I'll call your mother, and if she doesn't come and pick you up, then you can stay here."

Kairi sat back as Sora's mother called her mother. Kairi knew that her mother would be incapacitated right now, she was probably shopping for some last minute supplies, or maybe she was at a meeting or something for one of the various organizations she was a part of.

Sora's mother twirled the phone cord around her fingers, talking quietly into the speaker. She nodded every few seconds, and Kairi waited patiently for the call to be finished. When the call did finish, Sora's mother hung up the phone, and came over to Kairi, patting her shoulder.

"Your mother says that you can stay the night," Sora's mother said, and pointed to Sora's room. "If you want to sleep in there, you can. I'm sure Sora wouldn't mind."

Kairi nodded, and helped Sora's mother make dinner. It was fascinating, in a way, getting to know the woman better. Kairi watched the way the woman moved. She was surer in her movements than in her words. She always spoke with a hesitation, as if wondering if she was saying something wrong. But when she moved, she moved with sureness and a flow, like she had planned it all out. It was spontaneous, and yet not, at the same time. Kairi wondered how much Sora had gotten from his mother, and how much he had gotten from his father.

Kairi shut all the windows in the house as a few drops fell from the sky onto the ground, foreshadowing impending rain as Sora's mother set out the plates. Then, the food was set out, and they ate amidst occasional conversation as the rain finally began to pour down over the town. It lashed at the windows, accompanied by loud, crashing thunder and blinding lightning.

"Sora was always afraid of thunderstorms when he was a little boy," Sora's mother chuckled, pulling her hair back from her face. "He'd come running into the living room in the middle of the night, when he couldn't stand it anymore, and he'd jump into my arms and hide under my shirt," she said with a smile. "I always liked the storms. They calmed me down, and I sang to him. He always fell asleep like that. And then he started to get too 'big' for that sort of thing. That's the hardest part. When they get too big for you to hold them." Sora's mother sighed, and went back to the stove, setting on some tea. She turned back to Kairi, and pointed to the fridge. "There are some sweets on the third shelf. I got some nice coconut crème bars if you'd like to try one."

"That would be really nice," Kairi said enthusiastically, beaming. Her mom didn't really buy sweets- it was something about how 'they weren't healthy'. Her mom was always on a diet.

Kairi took the bars out of the fridge, and peeled the wrapping off of them, giving one to Sora's mother. She took it, and took a small bite out of it to begin with, closing her eyes in pleasure. "They're my favorite ones. Sora usually preferred the chocolate ones." She seemed to get a little bit sad at this, and looked down at the bar dully. Kairi thought it was funny how certain things evoked emotions- tiny things.

After they finished the bars, they had some tea, and Sora's mother moved into the living room, curling up on one of the chairs with her cup. The chair was near the window, and she looked out of it, seeing how bad the storm was. The rain lashed against the window, and Sora's mother looked out of it calmly, watching the droplets as they whizzed down the windowpane. Kairi finished her tea sooner than Sora's mother did, and she bowed to the woman. "Thank you so much for having me," she said, straightening up again, and Sora's mother waved her off.

"Don't worry about it, Kairi. I'm glad to have you here. It feels like a part of him is around. And you can stay as long as you like, but I'll be going to work pretty early in the morning."

"That's fine," Kairi said. "I'll probably make a trip back to my house in the morning."

Kairi's mother pursed her lips. "You'll be walking alone again, won't you?" she mumbled, wondering what to do. Then, she brightened up. "Sora used to play with Tidus occasionally, I'll give him a call in the morning so he can pick you up and run you back to your house."

Kairi blushed. She only wanted a change of underwear from her house. She didn't want Tidus running all the way back and forth from her house with her just so that she could pick up some underwear. Kairi's mother looked at her then, and seemed to get it. "You don't have a change of clothes, do you?" she asked, and Kairi shook her head, blushing a little bit. Sora's mother shrugged. "You can borrow some of mine. They're probably a tad bit big, but they might fit you."

Kairi nodded, and bowed again. "Thank you, ma'am," she mumbled, and then exited the room as Sora's mother chuckled to herself, shaking her head.

Kairi didn't want to go into Sora's mother's room, but she also didn't want Sora's mother picking out some underwear for her, so she just went in by herself. She immediately noticed the coldness in the room. The bed was made perfectly, there were no clothes lying around, nothing was out of place. It seemed as if the room hadn't been used for a few days. Then, Kairi breathed in a little sharply, realizing that Sora's mother had probably been sleeping in Sora's bedroom these past few nights.

Suddenly, Kairi began to feel incredible guilt. She didn't want to have to hide all of this from Sora's mother. She wanted her to know that Sora was fine, and that he'd be coming back. But she couldn't tell her! She'd be ruining the 'world balance', or whatever Sid and Yuffie and the rest of that gang had been talking about for the short time she had been with them.

Kairi got some underwear, and quickly went out of the room, and into Sora's, getting ready for bed. She brushed her teeth, and went back into the bedroom, throwing herself onto the bed, and hiding herself under the covers. She inhaled them, and she could get the familiar smell of the soap Sora used. But maybe that was just the smell of his mother. She threw the covers off, and huffed out a breath in frustration. Things were so strange with Sora's mother. How did you deal with any boundaries in a situation like this? How close were you allowed to get to a person without it becoming strange?

Kairi blinked back tears, and hid under the covers again, listening to the storm as it continued. It slowly lulled her to sleep, and she began to dream.

She felt something warm gliding up around her, and when she opened her eyes, she was on the shore, with water drifting around her. It soaked into her shoes, and into her clothes, making her cold. She tried to close her eyes again, but she heard laughing and splashing, and when she opened her eyes, Sora was above her, looking down at her warmly.

"Kairi, come on!" he said with a laugh, and Kairi smiled at him, knowing what he meant even though it made no sense. She jumped up, and they began running, out into the water. It was effortless. No matter how high the waves got, they could still run like they were in thin air. The water began to go over their heads, and clouds of fish swarmed past them, enveloping them. They changed as they went past, turning from fish into little firecrackers. Kairi stuck her hands into them as she passed them, and they popped and fizzled against her skin, giving a warm, tickling feeling. She laughed as they touched her.

Then, she suddenly became lost. The firecrackers swarming around her and began to burn her, and she screamed out for Sora, trying to run, but the waves smashed against her, pulling her deeper into the water, deeper into the firecrackers that were hurting her. There was one little, tan fish in the middle of the fireworks, looking like it was lost. It went back and forth, not knowing what to do. Kairi pushed up to it, and tried to hold it against her, but it burst in her fingers, sending a fizzle of sparks up into her eyes.

Kairi woke up in a cold sweat, breathing in and out with ragged breaths. She hadn't had a vivid dream in a while. But then she stopped, remembering the dream she had had at the end of last week, the one about the girl in black. That one was incredibly strange. She shivered just thinking about it, and tried to lie down and go back to sleep. She felt hot, so she opened the window, taking a deep breath as the sea air blew inside. As she sucked in a breath, she smelled a strange, faintly sweet smell. Kairi peered out the window to the front of the house, where the porch was, an noticed smoke drifting out around the side of the house. The rain had stopped, and it was just a little bit cool outside, cool enough to sit out on the porch without getting chilled.

There was also the faint sound of humming that drifted out from the front of the house, and Kairi listened to it. Sora used to hum the song occasionally when they had played together, especially when they had been building the raft. Riku had said that it was an old sailor's 'lullaby'- if such a thing existed. Kairi guessed that even those men needed something to get them to sleep on lonely nights like this, sometimes.

…


	4. Week 3

Kairi wetted her toes in the water, and twirled them around the tide went in and out. She could hear Selphie and Tidus running around after each other, screaming behind her, but she tried to block it out for just one moment. She closed her eyes, and imagined that Tidus' voice was Sora's. This thought made her smile, and she looked around at the boy in slight curiosity. It was remarkable how alike Tidus was to Sora. He was upbeat, brave, he always had a smile on his face, he was a little goofy, and he valued his friends.

Kairi could see Wakka looking at her out of the corner of her eye, and she suddenly felt a little bit uncomfortable. She couldn't see why a person like Wakka would be so taken with her. Why didn't he like someone his own age? Kairi didn't even get the notion of 'liking' someone. Or maybe she didn't want to. She had steadfastly clung to the frame of mind she had had before she'd left Sora's side, so that she would be exactly the same when he came back. No surprises. But that was proving unbelievably hard. She hoped she wouldn't change. He'd said that he would be back in no time. It had felt like years so far.

"You okay, Kairi?" Selphie asked, and Kairi whipped around, nodding before she'd even thought about it. "Yeah, I'm just fine," she murmured, looking around the back of the island. Apparently the raft that she, Sora, and Riku had been building had been found on one of the smaller, uninhabitable islands around the backside of the mainland. It had washed up, torn apart and weathered by the ocean waves and wind, which meant that it had been out to see. If it had been found on the island's shore, it could have meant that Sora and Riku never went off on the raft at all, and may have disappeared on the mainland. Someone had said that it was a 'stroke of luck', finding it in the condition it was in. It made the mystery so much closer to being solved. Everyone would think that Sora and Riku were dead. Scuba divers had been prowling around the reefs and such to see if they could find bodies. It made Kairi shiver to think about it. It made her sick. She could only imagine what Sora's mother was feeling right now. Sora was all that she had.

Selphie continued to look closely at Kairi, with a hint of worry painted across her young face. "Kairi…" she began, but trailed off, not really knowing what to say. She didn't know what to say. Kairi looked out at the waves, and a lump welled up in her throat. She looked down at the little shoes that she had had for such a long time. They were becoming tight on her feet.

"We're all so lost without them," Selphie sighed, and Kairi looked around in surprise. Selphie continued looking out across the waves. "They kept the time. They kept things from going too fast, too out of control."

Kairi nodded, but didn't really believe what Selphie was thinking. Time was passing infinitely slower nowadays. At least for her it was.

"Everyone is really preparing for the culture festival!" Selphie said suddenly, and Kairi nearly rolled her eyes. It wasn't for a month and a half, and already Selphie was going crazy about it. Kairi supposed that for all of the clubs, it was high preparation time.

"Are you in a club, Selphie?" Kairi asked, and Selphie nodded, and then thought about it more deeply, shrugging. "Well, I'm getting more into it now. Tidus was trying to form an unofficial blitzball team. They're going to try to play a game against the high school team at the festival. I wonder how that's going to work out," Selphie giggled, almost skipping back and forth. She beckoned for Kairi to follow her, over to the bent and knarled palm tree that Kairi, Sora, and Riku used to sit on together. Kairi had reservations against sitting on it, but she did anyway, along with Selphie.

"I am in the drama club. I'm not very good, so I was never able to get big parts. Perhaps it was because I wasn't very dedicated either, but…" Selphie began, a little sheepishly, then she waved any preconceived notions she had away, and continued, "but now I am going in full steam ahead, and I'm trying to help with everything. We meet every day for an hour after school. It's really fun. Are you in a club?" she finished inquiringly, and Kairi shook her head. Selphie suddenly looked very worried. "You should join one," she concluded, and Kairi shook her head. "I don't really want to be in a club!" she said defiantly.

There was silence for a moment, while Selphie tried to think of what to say, and Kairi sat defensively and stubbornly, waiting for Selphie's response. Selphie finally shook her head incredulously. "I don't think it's good for you to isolate yourself, Kairi," She mumbled. Kairi snorted. "It's not isolation! I'm the same as I've always been. I'm young! I'm having a childhood, playing outside, looking at the ocean!"

"Waiting for Sora and Riku to come back," Selphie mumbled to herself, without thinking. Kairi whipped around to look at her just as Selphie realized what she'd said. "I'm sorry, Kairi," she began intensely, and Kairi shrugged. "It's okay, Selphie."

But it wasn't okay. The rest of the two's time together was slightly uncomfortable, like an invisible wall had been brought down between the two girls and they could not communicate properly anymore. Kairi could not shake the feeling that Selphie thought Sora and Riku were dead. Kairi felt like saying something to support the contrary, but she was worried that she would be messing up some delicate 'balance' between the worlds or something. She didn't want to do that to Sora. She didn't want to mess up his mission in any way.

But it bothered her all the same. Because Selphie's was a logical conclusion to come to.

…

The temperature in Destiny Islands was finally beginning to drop a little bit. Some kids were beginning to get overly excited, putting on heavier jackets on the way to school. They quickly had to take them off, though, because they got sweaty. Kairi still continued to walk to school with her jacket rapped around the strap of her backpack. It looked a little juvenile, but Kairi brandished it proudly and without care.

As she was eating her breakfast, Kairi heard a knock on the door, and before she could get to it, her mother strolled over to the front room, and Kairi heard the door open and her mother say hi to whoever was standing outside. Kairi took a peek out from the dining room, and noticed that it was Wakka.

He looked a little bit uneasy, shifting from foot to foot and looking around the room in slight wonder. Wakka lived in one of the small houses on the coast, as did Tidus and Selphie.

"Wait one second, Wakka," Kairi said between bites, and finished her breakfast, running upstairs to brush her teeth and get her bag.

When she came back downstairs, Wakka was examining a painting of the mayor. He looked a little forlorn in the painting; Kairi wondered how long he'd had to sit waiting for the painter to finish. He wasn't a very patient man.

"Is that your dad?" Wakka asked, and Kairi nodded, throwing her backpack over her shoulder and then sliding her arm through the other strap. "Let's go," she added, and Wakka followed her out the door.

They walked down the road silently for a moment, before Kairi looked around in slight puzzlement. "Where are Tidus and Selphie?" she asked.

"Tidus is sick and Selphie is preparing for the Culture Festival," Wakka replied smoothly. Kairi wondered if he'd anticipated her asking that. He probably had. "Are you in a club?" he asked, and Kairi shook her head. "You should join one," Wakka continued, looking ahead brightly. "Tidus and I are planning on getting together two teams for a blitzball game for the Sports Festival. It's going to be cool, you should watch," he added a little shyly. Kairi nodded, laughing. "Yeah, I'll come. It'll be cool to see you all play." Wakka seemed satisfied with this, and walked with a little more of a skip in his step. He flashed a bright smile at her and laughed too, making her laugh again.

"Selphie has gotten a pretty good part in her play, actually," Wakka said suddenly. Kairi looked up in surprise, and Wakka furrowed his eyebrows inquiringly. "What?" he asked, and Kairi shrugged, looking away. "Saturday Selphie told me that she wasn't very good."

"Well, on Monday when they met after school they gave Selphie a big part," Wakka replied. Kairi narrowed her eyes. "They 'gave' Selphie a part?"

"No, well, they said that she should have the part because she was really good and she was getting really dedicated. You should see her now. She's so excited, she's such a mess," Wakka laughed, shaking his head a little bit. "I would have thought she'd have told you," Wakka added, but Kairi shook her head, "No, she didn't," she mumbled. Wakka looked over at her curiously for a moment, and then shrugged, and began to whistle.

There was only the sound of Wakka whistling for a while, and then Kairi looked at Wakka a little dejectedly. "So, Selphie won't be coming to the island for a while?"

"Not until after the festival, I don't think," Wakka replied. This dampened Kairi's spirits. She'd wanted someone to go to the island with, now she would not have Selphie. She didn't really know if she wanted to go to the island with Wakka, or Kuroha or Elyon- not that they would want to go to the island, anyway.

"Is Tidus going to be busy playing blitzball?" Kairi asked, and Wakka shrugged. "Yeah, probably. If he wants to win against the high school team- which he's planning to- he's got to do a lot of work," Wakka laughed, smiling again. Then, he glanced at Kairi. "But if you want someone to hang out with, you could always go to the island with me."

Kairi's heart fell, and she looked down at the ground as they walked. "Yeah, maybe so," she murmured, and wondered if maybe she should go on her own. That would be hard with the new 'buddy' system guidelines that had been put in place since Sora and Riku 'disappeared'. It was frustrating.

"Do you have any friends in your own grade, Kairi?" Wakka asked, and then he faltered a little bit, remembering. "Er, I mean, any girl friends?"

"Not really," Kairi mumbled, and Wakka nodded. "I saw you hanging out with Kuroha and Elyon a while back. Are they your friends?"

"Not really," Kairi repeated. Wakka stopped walking, and touched her shoulder. "You know, it's okay to talk to me. I don't mind."

Kairi looked up at Wakka and smiled. "Alright. I will."

The two talked in little spurts the rest of the way, and parted paths when Wakka reached the high school. He looked on for a little while to see that Kairi got into the gates of the junior high safely, and then he went into his own school. Kairi rolled her eyes in irritation. She didn't like the new buddy system at all.

She walked into the classroom, which was alive with chatter about the upcoming midterms and festival. The desk that usually seated Kuroha was empty today. Kairi wondered where she was.

"Can you believe midterms are in three weeks?"

"Yeah, and then after that it's two weeks of festivals, and then what?"

"Then we have three weeks until the next set of midterms. And then it's winter vacation!"

"And then third term! I'm so excited for high school!" One girl squealed in delight, and the rest joined in with peals of excited laughter.

Kairi folded her hands in front of her and then rested her head between them, letting it fall on the desk ever so slightly. Thinking of high school made her uneasy. Hopefully Sora would be back by then. He promised that they'd start high school together.

The conversation in front of Kairi suddenly went to a low whisper, and a few of the girls occasionally glanced back in Kairi's direction. Out of curiosity, Kairi peeked out from under her hair to see when the girls looked at her. They were probably talking about how long the investigation into Sora and Riku's whereabouts had been going. It was two and a half weeks now, going on three. Kairi smiled to herself. She was getting way to caught up in worry. It had only been three weeks. That wasn't that bad. What was a month to her? Sora's first mission took a month. So this one was bound to be at least a month. Maybe two at the most.

"Maybe you'll be back for my birthday!" Kairi whispered to herself, drawing little circles on her desk with her fingers. The idea suddenly seemed much more plausible. Kairi counted down the days till her birthday to see how long away it was. It was three and a half months away. Kairi grinned to herself. Sora and Riku would definitely be back by her birthday. They had almost three times the amount of time that they used for their first adventure. This brightened her spirits, and she sat up a little straighter, trying not to smile too much just in case people thought she was crazy.

The teacher walked into the classroom, and they finally began the lesson. Kairi tried to listen, but she kept nodding off, looking out at the palm trees lining the windows outside the school. Her lack of concentration continued into second period, when a little seagull landed on one of the trees for a moment, before flying off again. Kairi began counting clouds after the seagull left.

There was suddenly a rap on Kairi's desk, and she jumped a little bit, looking up and noticing the teacher staring down at her. "You may see me after class," he said lowly, before looking down meaningfully at Kairi's literature book and turning it to the right page. He then pointed to the paragraph that he had been reading, and indicated for Kairi to read it out herself.

It was a poem by an old sailor turned novelist, and it had the feel of a sailor song but with a lot more depth.

"Now, what is the theme of the poem?" The teacher began, and one of the boys at the back of the class raised their hand, with a grin on their face. The teacher pointed to them hopefully, and the boy lowered his hand. "He misses his babe," the boy said loudly, and the back of the class erupted in laughter. The teacher did not look happy. "No, that is not the theme of the play, but thank you for trying," he said flatly, and addressed the class again, "the theme of this selection may be best described as what?"

The teacher suddenly pointed to Kairi, who sat up a little bit in discomforted alert. "Uh…" she began, thinking about it. The teacher looked at her coolly. "Time is money, Kairi," he said simply, and Kairi looked up, indicating that she had the answer. "It's that in harsh times, love can make things easier," she tried, and the teacher looked at her closely, before softening his gaze. "That's very good, Kairi," he murmured, and then continued on discussing the selection.

After class, the teacher went to his seat, scribbled something down on a piece of paper, and got his things together as Kairi neared his desk. "What was it that you wanted to see me for?" Kairi asked, and the teacher looked up at her before giving her the sheet of paper. It was a referral.

"What is this for?" Kairi asked in alarm, and the teacher held his hand up for her to calm down. "You can choose this, or you can join a club," the teacher replied. "Either way, I'm going to suggest joining a club. Either you can agree to do it for me, or you can do it for the principal. You can decide."

"I'm doing just fine in school!" Kairi said in slight shock, trying not to get upset. She'd never, ever gotten a referral before. She hardly even thought her language teacher noticed her.

"To be honest, Kairi, I'm worried about you," the teacher stated, and turned back to her. "I can see that you are smart- and I don't want that intelligence to be wasted, especially with what's happening now."

"What do you mean, sir?" Kairi said with a wavering voice, and the teacher headed towards the door before stopping. "In hard times it's easy to disconnect. You've got to keep working, forging ahead. I think getting involved will help you." He smiled at her, and patted her forcefully on the shoulder, before leaving. Kairi stood at the door, lost for words, and decided that she would go to the bathroom. The pass was at the front of the classroom, and she took it with her.

As she stood in front of the sinks, she held the referral in her hands. She knew that it was only symbolic, that it wasn't the real thing- yet, at least. Her face went red as she thought about what the kids in the classroom would have thought of the teacher talking to her. They must have seen the pink slip. Why did it have to be such a bright color? Why couldn't it have been grey, or just plain white? They would probably all talk about her now.

One of the toilets flushed, and the stall opened to reveal a girl that used to be an occasional playmate of Kairi. Things got awkward for a moment, as Kairi tried to remember how the two had drifted apart. Perhaps she was playing with Sora and Riku so much that the other girl found other kids to spend her time with. Kairi cleared her throat, and the girl looked up at her expectantly.

When Kairi didn't respond immediately, the girl smiled a little awkwardly. "Hi, Kairi," she said gently. Then, Kairi nodded, and smiled back. "Hi."

There was a pregnant pause, and a slight shuffling of feet, before the girl waved to Kairi and said a quick bye. Then, she left the bathroom, therefore leaving Kairi alone. Kairi looked in the mirror at herself again, and sighed. A young girl with shortish red hair stared back at her with a forlorn look. She still looked pretty much the same. But, her hair was getting a bit long. It was in need of a trim.

Kairi took one more quick glance at herself, and then exited the bathroom, going back to the classroom in a tiny bit of a daze. She felt a little better than she had before hand, when she had gotten the referral.

When she got into the classroom, the music teacher was herding the kids out to the music room for their lesson. They all chattered aimlessly, a few laughing occasionally at something funny another student said. Kairi watched for a moment, before meshing in with the crowd, looking ahead as she walked. She bumped into someone, and when she turned around, she noticed that it had been Elyon.

Elyon smiled, and walked a little closer to Kairi. "How are you?" she asked, and Kairi shrugged. "I guess I'm doing alright. Where's Kuroha?" Kairi asked, and Elyon shrugged. "I think that she's sick," she replied. Then, she looked a little worried. "You don't think something could have happened to her, right?" she asked, and Kairi shook her head. "No way," Kairi said surely, trying not to chuckle. "I'm sure she's just fine."

Elyon looked at Kairi closely, and then nodded. The class came upon the music room, and the teacher told them that they were giving a presentation next week, and that they had a week to prepare a musical piece to share with the rest of the class. The class clowns looked at each other with wide grins, and asked the teacher if they could go rehearse outside.

The teacher rubbed his eyes with his hands, and shrugged. "You can only go out the door at the back of the classroom. You've got to stay within my sight, or you will all be in major trouble," he warned to them, and they nodded in between giggles, before dashing off outside. Every once in a while, it looked like they were practicing some sort of dance or something, and perhaps singing a little bit, but most of the time they just seemed to goof around.

Elyon and Kairi watched them for about ten minutes, and then Elyon beckoned for Kairi to come with her. "You can be in my group, if you'd like," she said, and Kairi nodded. Kairi followed Elyon as she walked up to the teacher, who looked up at her with a smile. "What can I do for you, Elyon?" he asked brightly, and Elyon asked if she and Kairi could use the piano in the storage room. The teacher nodded, and wrote them both a pass, looking at Kairi in particular before he wrote it out. "I trust you, Elyon," he added, handing the pass to her. Kairi sighed inaudibly, breathing out deeply in slight exasperation. What was it with her teachers?

The two walked into the storage room, and Elyon took the cover off the ancient grand piano that sat at the back of the room. She sat down at it, bent over it, and began to play it.

Kairi watched as Elyon's fingers cascaded back and forth over the keys, pounding out different melodies and harmonies that intertwined and flowed into one piece. She was an exceptional piano player.

Without thinking, Kairi sat down beside her, and watched her as she played. The song she was doing was sad, but fast and flurried, angry in a way, melancholy. Kairi couldn't find the correct words to describe it.

Elyon finally finished playing, and sat back, stretching her fingers out in front of her. She cracked her knuckles, and then looked back at Kairi feverishly, but with satisfaction. Pink glowed across her cheeks, and Kairi was at a loss for words.

"That was beautiful," Kairi mumbled. "I wish that I could play like that."

"Nah," Elyon snorted, shaking her head. "I've been playing for years. And I mean _years. _Since I was, like, five."

"I did a load of stuff when I was around that age," Kairi piped up, thinking back on the beginning of her time at Destiny Islands. "The mayor and his wife were worried about me getting depressed so they put me into everything. Dance, piano, art classes. But I didn't like any of it."

"Why were you depressed at five?" Elyon inquired uneasily, and Kairi shrugged. "I washed up on the shore when I was five. No one knew where I came from. I couldn't remember, either. They thought I had post traumatic stress disorder or something," Kairi added with a chuckle.

"Do you remember now?" Elyon asked, intrigued, but Kairi shook her head slowly. "Not really," she murmured, tracing circles aimlessly around the side of the grand piano. Elyon continued to stare at her closely, as if in examination, before beginning to gently play a little lullaby like tune on the piano keys.

"That's crazy stuff. Maybe only the people on this side of the volcano know that story," Elyon said with a chuckle. "I never heard it."

Kairi shrugged. "Not many people remember it now. It's been a long time." Kairi thought about it for a moment, and then put her hand on Elyon's. "Please don't tell anyone again," Kairi asked pleadingly, and Elyon nodded with an understanding smile. "You don't have to worry about it," she said simply, and turned back to the piano, beginning to play again. "But I wouldn't suggest confiding that in Kuroha. She's great, but she has a bit of a big mouth sometimes," Elyon added flatly, and Kairi laughed without thinking, making Elyon smile, too.

For a few moments after there was only the sound of piano keys being struck, but then it died down as Elyon stopped playing to think. When she was finished with that, she looked at Kairi expectantly. "Do you remember any of your piano?" she asked, and Kairi shrugged as Elyon let her scoot over to the middle of the seat. Kairi hesitantly stretched her fingers out over the row of white and black keys, and decided what to play. Suddenly, something came into her head, and she began to hum it. It was some sort of lullaby that got stronger and stronger as she continued to hum it louder and louder. Elyon listened beside her, and began playing it, sending Kairi into a short reverie.

Her thoughts went elsewhere, and she suddenly got a feeling of intense longing. When she closed her eyes, she could hear an old woman's voice singing the lullaby to her. After a few moments, she realized it was a memory, and snapped to attention. Elyon looked at her with a startled expression and stopped playing. "What's wrong?" she asked urgently, but Kairi waved her off. "It's nothing, I just thought of something…"

"Did you remember something?" Elyon asked in excitement, and Kairi shrugged. "I just remember my grandmother singing that lullaby to me. I guess… I miss her in a weird way," Kairi mumbled. She hadn't really given much thought to that part of her memory- the part that had come out in Hollow Bastion.

Elyon nodded to herself, and chuckled. "I suppose you don't know the name of it?"

"No," Kairi murmured, shaking her head. Elyon sighed. "Well, we'll call it 'Kairi's Lullaby' for now."

Kairi smiled at Elyon, nodding to herself in contentment. Elyon looked pretty chuffed, too.

"It's a pretty tune. I think I'll rework it a bit. Make it more meaty," she added with a wink. "We need to come up with something for music class."

"Why don't we just do this?" Kairi asked, and Elyon shrugged. "I guess we can come up with something later. That one's special."

Kairi sat back at the piano, and improvised a simple little tune. Elyon nodded, and added onto it herself, experimenting and trying different parts onto it. Kairi watched her in fascination.

"How much work do you think he'll think I put into it?" Kairi asked. "I can't play piano like you."

"He'll know that I finished it," Elyon replied, "but I can tell him that you started it off."

Kairi felt uneasy, and scratched the back of her head in discomfort, trying to think of what she wanted to get off her mind. "Well, I don't want you to have to do all the work…" Kairi said with hesitation, but Elyon waved her off. "Don't worry about it, Kairi. Kuroha does it with me all the time."

"I know, but I don't want to make you do all the work," Kairi jumped in dejectedly. "I don't want to take advantage of you."

Elyon seemed a tad bit irritated, but she shrugged dismissively. "I don't care Kairi."

"I won't do that to you," Kairi said lightly, and Elyon looked at her angrily. "Are you implying that someone else does do that to me?"

There was silence for a moment as Kairi tried to find a way to lighten the situation. She was lost for words, and for actions, so she just shook her head. "No," she said in quiet bewilderment. Elyon sighed audibly.

"Sorry. Stuff's been bugging me lately," she muttered. Then she softened. "I know you're worried because the teachers have been hard on you this week. But they're just looking out for you in their own weird way," She explained.

Silence seeped through the room for a few more seconds, and then Kairi started onto a different subject, to which Elyon joined in lively, trying to dispel the previous bad development.

When the bell rang, they jumped up from the piano, and Elyon threw the cover over it. Then, they both exited the room, Elyon locked the door, and they headed back to the music room to check in with the teacher. When they got in, he was looking out the backdoor for the delinquents. "Damn kids!" he muttered to himself, and nearly jumped when he saw Elyon come up to him.

"What is it?" he asked, and Elyon handed him the pass. He nodded, and beckoned for her to go back to the classroom. "I'm going to stay down here for a few minutes, I trust you two to go back to the classroom promptly," he instructed, still looking out the door. Kairi and Elyon decided to leave him to his business, and left.

They talked occasionally on the way up to the classroom, but the conversation was sparse. Kairi still felt uncomfortable about the conversation she had had with Elyon. She almost felt like the atmosphere was too vitriolic to have confided so much. Was it a mistake telling Elyon about her past?

Kairi and Elyon got into the classroom, and followed their next teacher down to the technology room, which was basically the basement. It was creepy and musty, and filled with old, rusty, crusted over machinery that looked like it had been used to split palm trees in half. The teacher was a crazy old lady who insisted on wearing dungarees no matter what.

"Alrighty, then!" the woman said, to begin. "Today we're going to be starting our first big project. We're making glass nametags. We're going to carve our names into them, and choose which color we want them to be, all that jazz. I know we've covered safety, but there's nothing like going to battle with the real thing! Like my father always taught me, gumption equals lost insecurities. But too much gumption may lose you a finger!" she added, roaring with laughter. The kids looked around at each other meaningfully, but the teacher didn't notice. She was too preoccupied with getting the machines ready for use.

Nothing went too wrong, except for a slight scare involving loose hair and horsing around by some of the clowns, but the perpetrators were given a swift tongue-lashing and sent out.

The bell for lunch finally rang, and everyone cleaned up their stations and headed for the door. As she left, Kairi heard the teacher humming an old sailor song as she picked up odd bits of paper and wiped off the machines. She seemed like she'd had an adventurous life.

For some reason, Kairi respected her greatly after thinking of this, even admired her.

….

Kairi ate lunch by the field again, taking in the salty sea air that was blowing in from the sea. It was Wednesday. The first four periods of the day were a nightmare. First period received a sanctimonious lecture on how the island was a finely oiled machine, and that everyone in the island fit into its cogs perfectly. If one of them messed up, everyone messed up. Then, the language teacher nagged Kairi about joining a club the next class. Health was strange as usual, and they had all gotten in trouble in PE and had been made do 50 squats. Kairi's legs were seriously feeling the burn.

She patted her thighs with a sigh, and looked down at them with affected melancholy. "I know that you're sad," she began, patting them again. "Tomorrow we shall sunbathe after school and try to move as little as possible."

"Dang, Kairi. Talking to yourself again!" she heard a voice from behind her say, and she immediately smiled. When she whipped her head around, she saw Tidus grinning at her.

"My thighs needed a pep talk," Kairi said simply, and Tidus laughed. "Did you do squats?"

"Yeah," Kairi said with a pout. Tidus nodded. "Everyone's saying that their legs are killing them. Maybe the coaches are in a bad mood."

Kairi nodded, and a slight breeze suddenly blew past them both. They reveled in it for a moment, before returning their attention to each other. "Are you doing the sports festival?" Tidus asked hopefully, and Kairi shrugged. "I suppose that I'll have to do something."

"What will you do?"

"Maybe I'll do rowing."

"Will you lose on purpose?"

"Well, not on purpose. But if the sky is especially blue and I can't control my deep inner reflections, I might get caught in the beauty of the moment and forget to move my oars," Kairi explained to a grinning Tidus. He nodded to himself after she finished talking. "It's understandable." Then, he looked back at her as if he could hardly contain himself.

"I've gotten together a blitzball team. We're going to play against the high school," he added in deep excitement. Kairi smiled at him. "Aren't they really good?" she asked, and he nodded with a slight shrug.

"Yeah, they're alright. But we've got a secret weapon!" he snarled, his competitive spirit welling up from within. "And what's that?" Kairi asked. Tidus fist pumped the air, and looked back at her with fire in his eyes. "We've got determination and youth! Those old geezers won't know what hit them! I'm almost 80% sure that they'll have to go up for air twice as much as we will!"

Kairi looked at Tidus with as little pity as she possibly could, but it was hard. "I don't think it works that way, Tidus."

He shrugged. "We're going to win regardless. We've been practicing everyday, really, really hard. And we've been doing exercises during lunch."

He crossed his arms in front of him and stared off like he was really thinking about something, which he probably was. Kairi could only imagine what he was thinking. It probably involved a big trophy and a disappointed Wakka.

Kairi snapped out of her little pleasant thoughts, and looked up at Tidus sternly. "You can't keep coming to talk to me during your class, or you'll get in trouble. We were made do fifty squats, no telling what they'll make you do."

Tidus shrugged, and started to run back to the rest of the kids in his class, waving to Kairi as he went. The teacher turned his head just before Tidus meshed in with the kids again, and he pointed for Tidus to go to the left corner of the field. He started doing squats in a half assed way, and the teacher had to go over and make sure he did them properly. Kairi felt sorry for getting Tidus in trouble again. She'd have to stop him from talking to her during lunch.

Kairi didn't notice the coach stalking towards the fence where she was sitting. She only heard a slight jingling of the metal coils in the fence, and when she turned around, the teacher was right on the other side, not looking too happy.

"This is the second time that you've distracted my student. If you can't stand eating quietly, maybe you should eat in your classroom," the woman growled, and Kairi blinked up at her blankly, trying not to feel small.

"Sorry," Kairi mumbled softly, and the woman glared at her, before walking back to the class. Kairi hadn't even thought about the fact that _she _could get in trouble. It would be terrible if she was made sit away from the field. It was so nice sitting out on the grass, relaxing away from everyone else. But the way things were going nowadays, people just might try to get her back into 'civilization' in any way possible.

…..

The language teacher had summoned Kairi to his office after school, and she sat in front of his desk, waiting for him to speak with her.

"Have you come up with a club yet?" he asked, and Kairi looked down at her hands, a little embarrassed. "No," she murmured, and the teacher sighed. "I'm giving you till Friday, and that's it. After that, you get a referral and _I _choose the club. It is bothersome that you haven't acted on my advice yet."

"I'm still deciding," Kairi mumbled. The teacher looked at her closely, before taking off his glasses and leaning in to speak with her more closely.

"Have you gone and asked for information from any of the clubs?" the teacher tried. Kairi shook her head.

"I remember them from the fair."

"So you should have chosen by now."

"It's a hard choice, sir," Kairi finally tried. The teacher seemed to be getting frustrated. He rubbed his temple, and put his glasses back on. "Well, just remember, Friday will creep up on you. It's only two days away and with the rate it's taking you to choose, you may not make it."

Kairi looked up at him for a moment, and then back down at her hands. "I'll make it on time," she finally replied, and the teacher dismissed her to go.

Kairi walked down the halls aimlessly, listening to the sound of her feet echoing off the floor. It may have been just her, but it seemed like people were being harder on her nowadays. Maybe it was a good thing.

As she exited the school, she noticed a club going on in one of the classrooms. They were painting posters for the Culture Festival, laughing and talking as they worked. Kairi turned her head away from them quickly, and walked out of the double doors in front of her, out into the fresh air. She had no idea what club she'd join. She didn't really have any skills to speak of. She could row, and laugh, and think about adventure _very _well, but aside from that, she was average.

Everyone had always worried about Sora when they were in school. Riku was the smartest of all of them, because he was actually at least partially disciplined in his learning. He slacked off in the beginning of high school, though, because he was so fed up with Destiny Islands. But Sora always had his head in the clouds, and he was never very good at school anyway. He always had to be tutored by Riku. Kairi mowed along just fine, but she found it harder to concentrate nowadays. She hated being melancholy and serious, and it seemed as if she was getting very much that way lately.

Sure enough, Wakka was waiting for her outside the front gates of the school, kicking a rock around like it was a football. Kairi smiled a little, and trotted over to him. They weren't the same type of person at all, but Wakka was very nice, in his own way. He didn't have to wait for her everyday after school, but he did anyway. She wondered if he felt responsible for her for some reason.

"How was school?" he asked, and Kairi shrugged. "It was alright. The teacher's getting onto me for not joining a club."

"I thought you didn't have to join one in middle school," Wakka said in a puzzled way, and Kairi sighed. "They think that I need to join a club. I don't know if it's because of what's happened…"

"They're probably worried about you," Wakka tried. Kairi should've known he'd say something like that. "They just want to make sure that you're involved with people. Shutting down is the worst thing you can do."

Kairi wondered if Wakka had ever 'shut down' from social situations. He was usually _very _aware what people he hung around. Selphie never seemed to spend one moment alone. How could they know what 'shutting down' felt like? Kairi just wondered.

They walked in silence for a while, as Kairi wondered if she should visit Sora's mother again. She'd been visiting the woman pretty regularly now, and they'd been talking a lot of late. Kairi respected Sora's mother in a strange way. She wasn't really an especially 'mothering' type, but she tried her best. And she deeply missed Sora. Kairi knew that the woman loved him very much.

"What are you thinking about?" Wakka asked, giving Kairi a start. She quickly recollected herself and shrugged, trying to find the right words to say to him. Her dream world was becoming more and more tangible, it seemed. It was easier to get lost in it these days.

"I'm just thinking about what club I'll join," Kairi said brightly. Wakka nodded to himself. "It's a tough choice, they all seem so fulfilling."

Kairi tried not to narrow her eyes at this comment; she just looked out over the ocean that was coming closer and closer as she and Wakka walked farther away from the school building.

"Would you like to sit by the beach?" Kairi said suddenly, and Wakka's eyes became wide with surprise. He nodded quickly, hustling to catch up to her as she began walking forward. The sea air grew stronger and stronger as they neared the shore, and Kairi began to quicken her pace as they got closer and closer to the ocean. When they reached it, she slipped off her little shoes, and dipped her bare feet into the water, sighing in contentment when the waves washed over her toes. Wakka came up beside her with his shoes on, smiling at her, obviously chuffed with himself.

"The ocean is great, isn't it?" he said, and Kairi nodded to herself. "It just goes on forever," he added, pointing out. "Way way beyond anything that we can imagine."

"The ocean only goes so far, though," Kairi said matter-of-factly, and Wakka looked over at her in surprise. She stepped forward into the sea, and threw her arms around her, twirling around happily.

"You should see what it's like outside the sky! There are stars everywhere! Think about it! Right beyond that thin veil of sky, there are whole worlds out there that we don't even know about!" She explained in excitement, looking back at Wakka for encouragement. The boy looked slightly confused. "Do you not believe me?" she asked, suddenly a little self-conscious, and Wakka shrugged. "Well, I mean, I know that _space _is out there, and the stars and stuff… but that's about it, right?"

Kairi put her arms down in slight disappointment. "I guess so," she murmured, and sighed a little to herself. Then, she grabbed her shoes, and went to wipe her feet on the grass to dry them off. Wakka walked over with her, and waited for her to get her shoes back on as he looked out at the ocean once more, and then the sky.

…

Sora's mother sat in her favorite arm chair near the window, listening to the rain and reading a book as best as she could. She had a cup of tea in her hand, and she rubbed it with her fingers nervously. Kairi looked at her from across the room, wondering if she was feeling any better since finding out Sora had gone 'missing'. Perhaps that was a stupid thing to think.

Kairi looked at Sora's mother closely, picking out the things that Sora had gotten from her. She had Sora's tan skin, but her hair was a deep, rich brown. Her head was covered in wild curls, the kind that waved around in large, loose ringlets, but her hair was _much _less unruly than Sora's, perhaps due to the fact that she had it cut very short. She clipped it to the side with a small comb made of some sort of pearl. Her nose was straighter than Sora's; her eyebrows were sharp and turned up like his, but her eyes were duller than his. Their deep blue seemed to be fading. Sora's eyes shone.

Kairi was too engrossed by examining Sora's mother's face to notice the woman peeking out at her from behind her glasses. "Kairi?" she asked, bemused, and Kairi snapped out of it, blushing a little bit. "Do I have something on my face?" Sora's mother asked, and Kairi shook her head in embarrassment.

Sora's mother took her glasses off, and smiled as she drifted off somewhere in her mind. Then, she came back to Kairi, still smiling.

"Sometimes I forget how young you are," she murmured suddenly, and chuckled. "I'm sorry for staring at you," Kairi blurted out in turn, and closed her mouth too late. Kairi's mother looked at her for a moment, and then laughed brightly. She waved Kairi off, sighing a little bit and shaking her head. "Oh, it's fine Kairi. It's flattering that you find me so riveting. Not a lot of people do," she added a little quieter, looking off into space.

"I was just wondering what Sora got from you," Kairi blurted out again, and shut her mouth too late again. But Sora's mother thought about it seriously, nodding to herself in deep thought.

"Well, his eyes came from me, and so did his face shape- and partially his hair. My hair was crazy when I was a kid- it was longer than it is now, and it framed my head like a halo!" she laughed, indicating what her hair looked like. "But everything else was from Sora's father," she sighed, getting a little melancholy. "He was a very beautiful man. He was very shy though. He didn't have any parents so he lived with his grandfather. The old man was very…" she struggled to find the right word, but eventually she settled for 'traditional'. The word rolled off Sora's mother's tongue in a strange way, like it was uncomfortable.

"Well, Rangi's grandfather had been a sailor, and when both of Rangi's parents died, he was sent to the old man. He didn't like Rangi very much. Rangi was sitting under the docks the first time I met him, crying because his grandfather had hit him. I was very mean. I called him a baby. I didn't understand what he meant at that time. I don't know why," Sora's mother's eyes glazed over a bit at this point as she remembered. Then, she came back to reality. "But, we began playing together, and we became inseparable. He was very hesitant about everything, I was the adventurous one," she added proudly, and her eyes shone a little bit as she smiled. "He'd always try to talk me out of things. I remember one time I broke my arm because I tried to climb one of the paopu trees. He carried me all the way home, sobbing the whole time. He loved me very much."

Kairi was fixated on Sora's mother as she spoke, there was something poetic about the way she spoke when she remembered things, it was like her movement, it was hesitant and then direct, like the ocean.

Sora's mother seemed to remember fully whom she was talking to, and she put her hand over her mouth in embarrassment. Then, she shrugged, trying to forget how much she'd just said. "I guess Sora gets a fair bit from both of us. That's the best way," she added wistfully.

Suddenly, she seemed to get an idea, and she left the room abruptly, looking for something. When she came back in, she handed Kairi a photo. Kairi looked down at it, and gasped a little bit. A young girl with wild curls twirling around her head, and a melancholy, sweet looking boy with short, spiky hair stared into the camera. The girl grinned widely, with shining, stunning blue eyes and sharp eyebrows, and the boy stared out from his tan skin with light green eyes, framed by heavy eyelashes. They both held onto each other tightly.

"Even though Rangi seemed like a sad boy, he could be very funny. He made me laugh when I got down," Sora's mother said, pointing to him fondly. "I had highs and lows. I was very energetic and adventurous, and then I would get discouraged. He always cheered me up."

Kairi looked at the picture again, thinking how precious it was. She looked at Sora's mother once more, and at the pearl comb she wore in her hair. She could guess whom it was from.

"I think that Sora got the best of both of us," Sora's mother said shakily, and left the room again, suddenly. Kairi heard the door to Sora's bedroom shut, and she sat in the living room, awkwardly waiting for something to happen, though she didn't know what.

It began to rain again, and Kairi put her head in her hands. Sora's mother would have her stay the night again if it got too bad outside, and Kairi felt like Sora's mother needed some alone time. So, she grabbed her bag, and ran outside into the rain, shutting the door behind her.

Kairi ran through the rain as it rained down harder and harder, coming down surprisingly quickly for having started just a few moments ago. Before she knew it, she was completely soaked, charging down the road like mad.

As she ran, she suddenly began to think about the precautions the principal and the police had given them. She wasn't supposed to be out running in a storm. Her mind drifted to the 'defensive' policies, set in place to prevent someone trying to harm you. It made Kairi think about the strange girl in her dream, and she began to get nervous. The sky was a deep, dark green with mixed in purple, like a bad bruise. She heard thunder, and knew that things were getting very bad. The tides would be getting high. As she looked at the occasional tree and bush as she passed by them, she could see their shadows playing against the ground as they swayed wildly back and forth. As her fears became magnified, the shadows began taking human shape, as if people in black cloaks were following her as she ran home. She charged ahead faster and faster, eventually peeling down the road at top speed, without looking over her shoulder. When she finally got home, she jammed her finger on the doorbell multiple times, until her mother opened it up in a slight fright.

"Dear, why were you out in the storm? Why are you panting so hard?" Kairi's mother asked in alarm, and Kairi shook her head and waved her hand in dismissal, pushing past her mother and trudging up to her room.

She ran over to her bed and plopped onto it with a frustrated sigh. All she could hear was the sound of the rain smashing onto her window, with the quiet hum of the fan whirring in the background.

Suddenly, she remembered that tomorrow was Friday. She hadn't even begun thinking about what club she would join yet.

Kairi was so tired that she fell asleep within the course of a few minutes. Shortly after, Kairi's mother peeped into her bedroom to see if she was all right, and saw that she was asleep. She went over and tried not to wake Kairi up, putting Kairi's pajamas on for her and tucking her in. Then, she kissed Kairi on the cheek, with the slightest bit of hesitation.

"I love you," her mother said softly, patting Kairi on the shoulder. "Maybe we'll go out somewhere fun this weekend, okay?" she added in a whisper, and then left the room, closing Kairi's door behind her.

….


	5. Week 4

**Just want to say sorry for how late this is coming! I was so busy! Really. I will be posting chapters more regularly now.**

The sun was shining in on Kairi's bed when she woke up, and she felt surprisingly good. After running home in the storm on Thursday night, her mother had doted on her more. She'd taken Kairi out for a lunch date on Saturday and had tried to buy her a new pair of shoes, but Kairi had said no. She didn't really want to throw her shoes out.

On Friday she'd gone to her first meeting for the creative writing club. She'd decided to join it on a whim. When Friday morning rolled around and she hadn't come up with a club she wanted to join, she noticed the 'creative writing' club sticker pasted outside the language teacher's classroom, and had decided to go for that. She thought that he probably knew that she hadn't thought about it very hard. The leader of the group was a girl from a different class to her named Dahlia. Dahlia was one of those finicky people who always seemed to be stressed out about something. She headed the creative writing meeting like she was on a time limit, like she had to be somewhere important.

"Sorry, guys, I have to go early today for tutoring," she'd later said in a frenzied, apologetic voice. But she managed to stay till the end of the meeting. It turned out her tutoring didn't start for an hour after the club ended, she just wanted to get home early so she could take some time to 'get in the zone'. Kairi thought that the tutor must have been very intimidating if it took an hour to get up the energy to go visit them. It made her wonder what would happen if _she_ fell behind in school.

But, they'd read some poetry in the meeting and discussed it together, and Kairi found that she actually kind of liked reading poetry.

"We're all going to do a poem and share it next Friday. That gives you guys a week to come up with something great," Dahlia had said to finish up the meeting, and everyone had agreed and said goodbye to one another. As usual, Wakka had walked her home from school.

Now it was Monday again, a new day. Kairi was feeling rather hopeful as to this new week, maybe people wouldn't pay attention to her as much as they had been the past few weeks.

She got ready for school as usual, and headed out the door, where Wakka was waiting for her. They walked to school and exchanged small bits of conversation, but mostly they just daydreamed. At least, Kairi daydreamed. She didn't know what Wakka thought about when he was quiet. She thought that Wakka was a lot quieter with her than he was with other people. He was usually the comic relief with Selphie and Tidus. He was very serious with Kairi.

When they got to school, Kairi trudged into homeroom, and waited for first period to start. The teacher walked in, said good morning, and then took out the roll sheet.

He began calling names, and Kairi said here when it reached her. The teacher rattled off other names, until he got to the letter 's', and stopped after Sarah. He furrowed his eyebrows, as he looked down at the roll sheet closer.

"That's very strange," he mumbled, peering at the sheet in front of him. "Sora's name isn't on here."

Kairi looked up from her desk in curiosity, and saw that everyone else had looked up too.

"Is it a new roll sheet?" someone asked.

"That would be cruel," another person whispered.

"It could have been a mistake."

"How could they have made that big of a mistake?"

The teacher shook his head as he looked down at the sheet in front of him. "Maybe someone decided to play a cruel prank this week. I'll check the past week's roll checks."

The teacher skimmed through them, becoming visibly alarmed. "I don't have his name on any of last weeks roll either… that's impossible," he muttered to himself, putting the clipboard down. The classroom buzzed with sudden conversation as the teacher tried to quiet everyone down.

Kairi looked ahead at the clipboard as it lay on the desk. Suddenly, she was standing up and walking towards it in unstoppable curiosity, skimming through its pages in alarm. Sure enough, where Sora's name should have been, there was a blank space with checks beside it. It was just one tiny word, and it was gone on every single sheet of paper.

Kairi felt a hand fall on her shoulder, and when she turned around, she saw that it was the teacher.

"Kairi, sit down," he said softly, and Kairi nodded, in a daze, and sat down mechanically. The teacher tried to get back into class, and things began to go smoother as the lesson progressed. But Kairi could not concentrate at all. She could hardly even write without thinking about why Sora's name wasn't on the roll sheets.

"Maybe it was a prank," she whispered to herself, and she finally began to calm down. Her heart beat slower, and she sighed out in relief. That was what it was. Someone had played a cruel prank. Kairi couldn't understand why they would go through so much trouble just to copy out all the sheets exactly as they had been, save for Sora's name. It was just stupid.

Their science teacher came in second period, and promptly got out the roll sheet. Kairi closed her eyes as the teacher read off the names, and Kairi looked at her curiously as she stopped on the 's'.

"That is just really strange," the woman whispered, and flipped through the roll sheets again. "Wow," she said to herself, and scratched the back of her head. Kairi rubbed her temple, knowing what was missing from the sheet.

"Is Sora's name not on the sheets?" someone shouted, and the teacher looked up at them in slight alarm.

"Now don't you go spreading rumors," she warned, but it was obvious by her facial expression that the kid had gotten it right. All of a sudden, the talking started up again, and Kairi stayed silent, wondering if the prank had become more elaborate.

Kairi spent science class firmly convincing herself that someone had played a very mean and very elaborate joke on the student body. Her imagination was going wild as she began to think up people that could have done it. She quickly stopped herself, not wanting to even think about accusing anyone of doing something like what had occurred.

The next two periods of the day, the very same thing happened. By now, the kids had gotten really excited, and Kairi dreaded lunch, when the news would most likely spread throughout the school.

Fourth period finally ended, and lunch began, leading Kairi out to the field where she usually sat. This time, though, she didn't really want to meet up with Tidus. She decided to sit under a palm tree near the back entrance to the school, hidden from the view of passerby. There, she nibbled on her lunch blankly, trying to think of anything but Sora.

The soccer team started running out onto the field, and a few of them glanced over at Kairi, whispering to each other a little bit. Kairi's fingers tightened around her lunchbox, and she breathed out in slight irritation. If you looked at someone, and then started talking, then it was safe to say that the person would assume you were talking about them. It was common knowledge, right? Kairi sighed to herself, shaking her head and even smiling a little bit. "You're making me a very popular girl, Sora," she chided to the air as it wisped around her. A sudden gust of wind blew in her face, and she began laughing without even thinking about it. "Sora!" she said to herself, scolding again a person that wasn't there. Or maybe he was.

"_I'll always be with you, Kairi."_

"I know, Sora," Kairi whispered to herself. "You don't have to tell me twice."

…..

Kairi had told Wakka about the creative writing club, and he'd responded enthusiastically, saying that that would give him time to practice blitzball. It really was nice of him to be spending so much time and attention on Kairi. She was very hard on him. Maybe it was her fault that they couldn't really talk about a lot of stuff together.

She walked into the meeting classroom, peeking in before she went in. There were already a host of students seated at the desks, chatting aimlessly and waiting for the teacher. The language teacher walked in briskly a few moments later, beaming at the students. "Well, hello again, all," he said brightly, setting his brief case down. "Are we doing poetry again?"

"Yes!" Dahlia said in a high pitched, worried voice. She probably had tutoring to go to again. She fidgeted a little, looking down at her watch, before shuffling to the front of the classroom.

"So I brought a bunch more poems for us to take a look at today, and we're going to dissect them a little bit and figure out what we like about them. And remember, next class we've all got to bring in our favorite poems so we have something to give us inspiration for writing the beginnings of ours on Friday."

Kairi scooted around uncomfortably in her seat, wondering what poem she would pick. She hadn't thought about either of the assignments at all. She would have to do it all within the week. Some of the students looked around smugly, it was apparent that they had found their favorite poem and that they were already beginning to shape their own. Kairi on the other hand, didn't know the first thing about shaping a poem.

They all read some poems out loud, and then everyone broke apart to work on their other assignments. Kairi went to the back of the classroom, looking through the bookshelf to see if there were any literature books. She knew that there would be something in there.

It turned out that Kairi was wrong. She couldn't find a poem that resonated with her at all. The teacher saw her looking through the two literature books that were on the bookshelf, and narrowed his eyes in deep thought. The meeting finally wound down after Dahlia left for her tutoring, and everyone started to talk amongst themselves and work on other homework until the meeting ended. When it was over, the teacher called Kairi up to his desk to talk to her.

"Kairi, I saw that you were having trouble finding a poem," he said simply, and Kairi nodded. "I have some in my office space, if you'd like to come down and have a look," he offered. "I'll let you borrow a few."

Kairi bowed a little bit in thanks, and asked one of the girls to tell Wakka where she was if they saw him standing outside the front of the building. Then, she followed the teacher down to his office. She looked through the various literature books on the wall, skimming over them quickly in order to find one that seemed promising. One book, an old ragged copy of a compilation of classical to ancient poems of Destiny Islands, really caught her eye. The teacher seemed impressed with her choice, nodding to himself as she picked it out from all the other choices.

"That's a good one. There is some stuffy writing in there, but some are very sophisticated."

"It seemed interesting," she said quietly, looking back up at the teacher. He beamed down at her, patting her shoulder with a strange, proud glance. She got the feeling that he felt like he had helped her a great deal by doing this small service for her. "Have a nice day, Kairi," he said in farewell, and prepared to leave. Kairi exited the offices, wandering around the school a little bit with the old poetry book in her arms. She heard the sound of a piano playing down in the basement, and then a humming sound. When she peaked in the door, she noticed that Elyon was practicing on the grand piano. The door creaked a little as she tried opening it, and Elyon whipped around to look at who was peaking in at her. When she saw that it was Kairi, she breathed out a sigh of relief, and turned around quickly, rubbing at her eyes. She stayed turned away from Kairi.

"Please don't tell anyone I was in here," Elyon said softly, looking away. "I'd get in a lot of trouble."

"I won't tell anyone," Kairi said softly, and Elyon nodded to herself, picking at her nail polish. Kairi wondered if it was one of Kuroha's colors. "Do you want me to walk home with you?" Kairi asked, but Elyon shook her head, before hesitating. "Uh, give me five minutes and I'll be out."

Elyon got all her things together, and threw the cover back over the piano, before exiting the classroom quickly, ahead of Kairi with her head bent low. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom," she mumbled, before heading down the hall. Kairi waited outside the bathroom for a few minutes, and Elyon finally came out, with the tiniest hint of red in her eyes. Then, she smiled. "Thank you for waiting for me."

They both headed out, and Wakka was faithfully waiting outside. He seemed a little irritated. "Thanks for leaving me waiting!" he said, and Kairi shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, I borrowed a book and then got Elyon. She needs someone to walk home with her."

Wakka softened at this when he saw Elyon, who blushed a little bit upon seeing him. Wakka smiled, and patted Kairi on the shoulder. "That's fine. It's nice that you waited for her."

They all walked home together, and they dropped Elyon off at her apartment, even though she protested. She thanked them profusely when she went inside her home, and then Wakka and Kairi walked back. Wakka looked over his shoulder as they walked away from the apartment complex. "Huh. I didn't know that she lived in there," he said quietly, before turning back around.

The wind blew past them as they looked ahead, and the sun wasn't as hot now as it had been before.

"Half way to midterms," Wakka commented suddenly, making Kairi nod. "And then it's basically all fun until after the culture festival."

"Yeah," Kairi laughed, looking up at the sky while shielding her eyes from the sun. Gulls were flying overhead, back to the ocean.

"It's a nice day," she murmured. She really wanted to go to the beach, but the new 'curfew' rule would make going off on her own impossible.

Wakka nodded in response to her announcement, sighing. He smiled for a moment before walking ahead briskly. "We'll never get home if we stand here looking at the sky the whole time," he laughed. Kairi only nodded in reply.

….

"Alright let's take attendance…" the teacher began, running down the names on the list. Kairi noticed that she skipped over Sora.

"You forgot Sora," Kairi said nonchalantly, and the teacher looked up at her in confusion. "Sora?" she asked unsurely, and Kairi furrowed her eyebrows. "You know, big brown hair Sora. Always laughing Sora. The one you used to roll your eyes at every day."

It took the teacher a good minute to get her thoughts together, and then she nodded brightly. "Oh, yeah! Of course, of course. I can't believe I forgot him!" she added, rolling her eyes as she remembered. "It' strange, things seem a little fuzzy today," she apologized, and went back to class. As the teacher talked about the stratosphere, Kairi looked out the window, expressionless.

….

Kairi waited patiently for Sora's mother to open the door, eventually hearing the unlatching of the locks from inside. Sora's mother opened the door slowly, and smiled weakly at Kairi. She looked like she hadn't slept the night before.

"Hello, Kairi," she murmured, scratching the back of her head in irritation. "What's the matter, ma'am?" Kairi said, and Sora's mother waved her off briskly. "I can't find any of Sora's pictures _anywhere. _I've been looking for them all yesterday and today. I called into work sick."

She seemed very upset, and Kairi looked around the house in alarm, noticing that everything had been thrown about. Books were lying around open, and there was a pile of blank photograph paper in the middle of the floor in the living room. Kairi went over to one scrapbook looking thing, noticing the words 'baby book' written on the front of it. As she skimmed through it, her breath caught in her throat. All of the photograph paper stuck onto it was blank, and there were no words beside each 'picture'. It was disconcerting, and Kairi quickly put it back the way it was. There were other journal type books, which she skimmed through. One of them, dated recently, had certain blank spots in it, like something had been cut out.

"Sora's not in any of them," Sora's mother said flatly, and Kairi turned around and blinked in alarm. Sora's mother was not her normal self. Usually she was all over the place, always worried. But right now she stared ahead blankly like she was gone. "It's like I never had him," she added, and fear almost threatened to take her voice over. She had to sit down, and did so tiredly, gripping the sides of her favorite chair for support. "Are you sure that Sora's not in _anything?" _Kairi asked nervously, and Sora's mother nodded, rubbing her temple.

"I actually noticed when I was in the supermarket. There was a picture up that used to have Sora in it. He had witnessed a fish being caught, it was a big one, and he got to take a picture with the fish, the fisherman, and the fishmonger. It just has the fisherman and the fishmonger now. No Sora at all."

"Then I went back home and started looking at photographs, and Sora wasn't in any of them!"

"Sora's name wasn't on any of the roll sheets at school," Kairi said without thinking, and this scared Sora's mother even more. She looked out at Kairi blankly, going a little paler, furrowing her brows together. "What?" she said breathlessly.

Kairi sat uncomfortably, wondering what exactly to say. "His name isn't on the role sheets. At first I thought it was a joke, like someone had taken all the papers and gotten rid of his name. But it's real," Kairi said softly. "I'm sorry," she added in a murmur. Sora's mother waved her off again, looking absolutely exhausted. "I hate being alone," she muttered. "But this isn't the place for you to be tonight. I'll walk you home," she added, standing up and herding Kairi out of the house. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Kairi asked, and Sora's mother shook her head brusquely. "No, I'll walk you home."

They journeyed to Kairi's house in silence, and Sora's mother only talked with Kairi's mother briefly before leaving. Kairi's mother put her hand over her heart after Sora's mother had gone, shaking her head in pity. "That poor woman," she muttered to herself, and went off to take care of something. Kairi watched her as she went. Then, Kairi went up to her room, hiding under her covers.

She tried to get warm, but found that her skin just refused to do it, staying cool no matter how much she rubbed on her arms. She shivered as she thought of everything that had happened. She'd seen some scary stuff before, like a giant swordfish breaking the waves near her small boat one time. That had been a part of her nightmares for years. And then there was the dream she had about someone chasing her. And the most recent dream- the one with the tan fish, and then the one before that, with the girl in black. That one was terrifying.

But the tiniest thing, or rather the stupidest thing, the thing that shouldn't have scared her that much- those blank photographs, was disturbing. The fact that her world was being meddled with by something else- because something must have happened to make those pictures go blank- and the fact that a person could be deleted without warning, it was disturbing. Especially Sora. The one who had promised that he'd come back to her.

What if he came back, and there were no pictures of him? What if he came back and no one remembered his face?

….

Kairi trudged up the road, alone, looking around from underneath her hair to see if anyone saw her out without a 'buddy'. She was getting tired of always having to have someone at her side. Of course, if Sora and Riku had have been here, there would have been no problem in the curfew, since both of them had been with her every moment of every day.

She came upon the tiny police station, looking at it in wonder. The police station sat near the dock, and Kairi was pretty sure that it had previously been a fisherman's hut, perhaps with another room added onto it for filing purposes. Kairi didn't know if there was a basement or not. The whole building, which was closer to a shack than any form of an office, seemed so tired. The police station itself had hardly ever been used.

She wondered what the cases that came to them were like. Kairi suspected that most of them would have been civil. Kairi couldn't think of any crimes that had ever happened in Destiny Islands to date, aside from petty theft. And most disappearances were due to natural causes, like the sea. The paranoia around Sora and Riku's disappearances was beginning to die down.

Kairi thought briefly about going inside. She didn't know why this came upon her at first, but as she began to descend the small, rickety wooden steps that led to the front door of the building, she understood herself.

She opened the door, and there wasn't even a reception desk. It was just the line of the detectives' desks, and then the office for the head detective. The files were lined up against all the walls in the shack. One of the detectives went over to her to ask what was wrong, and she cleared her throat and took a deep breath before asking.

"I'd like to see Sora's file," she said shakily. The man blinked out at her, and narrowed his eyes. "Sora…" he tried, but nothing came to him.

"Sora Nomura. The boy who disappeared," Kairi added, her throat suddenly going dry. The man thought for a moment, and then his face brightened up. "Oh yes! Sora. He's not my division. Apparently there's been some trouble with his files, though. There was an uproar about something yesterday, but I was off sick," he said with a chuckle. Then, he pointed Kairi towards another detective, who was sorting out a stack of files he had laid out on top of his desk.

Kairi trudged towards him, and when he saw her, he beckoned for her to sit down in front of him. He continued rummaging around through the files, and Kairi wondered if he was ignoring her until he finally spoke again.

"So you're Kairi?" he mumbled. Kairi nodded in surprise. The detective smiled. "My colleague went to talk to you at your school," he added. "I'm her partner on this case," he added, holding his hand out for Kairi to shake.

"What's the matter?" he asked. Kairi stayed silent for a moment. "Sora's name has been erased from the roll sheets at school," she muttered. The detective nodded, as if he knew what Kairi was talking about. "Then, his mother couldn't find any of his pictures," she added. The detective chuckles darkly at this, nodding his head more vigorously. "She came to talk to us about that this morning. Has there been anything else?"

"No. People just aren't remembering him as well as they did before."

This made the detective stop what he was doing to look up at Kairi. He stared at her with an intense expression, as if trying to figure her out. He pursed his lips. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to see his file," Kairi said.

The detective smiled, and looked up at Kairi with a wistful expression. "He's not on any of our files," he sighed. "And we've contacted the mayor's office to get his birth certificate, any information on him. There's nothing."

Kairi stared out at the man in front of her blankly. Her hands began to shake without control, and she sat on them to stop them from shaking so badly. She continued to look at the detective, becoming angry. "Are you joking with me?" she hissed, and the detective blinked out at her in surprise. "Because I thought with a job like this, that wouldn't happen," she choked, and jumped out of her seat, exiting the office.

The detective hesitated, and then jumped up, stopping her at the door. His face held a serious expression. "Kairi, I told you this in confidence. This is classified information, if you tell this to anyone else, you will be reprimanded. Perhaps I should not have told you, but I felt like you needed to know. I told Sora's mother the same thing. But no one else must know."

Kairi stared up at him, trying to find any hint of a lie in his eyes, but she couldn't see any. She blinked up at him desperately, before putting her head down, and nodding. She trudged out of the building, and walked absentmindedly away from it, not knowing what to do with herself. She decided to visit Sora's mother again, to see if what the detective had told Kairi was true.

When Kairi reached the door, she knocked on it loudly, so that Sora's mother would hear her. There was no answer. Kairi tried peeking in the windows, but the curtains on every one were drawn. No smoke came from the chimney. Kairi became frightened, and thought of what she could do. She tried remembering where Sora's mother worked, and charged down to the supermarket, asking the manager if Sora's mother was in.

"She called in sick again," the man said brusquely. Then, he softened. "I feel very sorry for her, but if she continues to call in sick I'll maybe forced to think that she is emotionally unfit to work." After he'd said this, he pursed his lips, and blushed a little bit, as if he hadn't meant to say that in Kairi's presence.

It shocked Kairi all the same, and she nodded absentmindedly, turning around and exiting the supermarket.

As she walked down the road, she felt intensely lonely, as if she was the only person left in the world. She stared up at the blue sky, which hid the stars and signs of other planets, other worlds. Sora was up there somewhere.

"Come on, Sora! You've got to hurry up!" she whispered pleadingly, but no one answered her. The wind blew softly at her heels, and she looked down at the ground. Then, she continued walking once more, lulled into another nervous daydream.

…

Kairi looked around the inside of the caves underneath Traverse Town. Green iridescent stones covered their surfaces, like cobblestones. Her eyes were drawn back to the crescent moon on the wall in front of them, where what looked like a star had fallen into Sora's palm. Like a paopu fruit. Like a doorway, in a small cave. A place that was safe.

"A light at the end of the tunnel…" Kairi murmured to herself suddenly, without thinking.

"Oh, your grandma's story, right?" Sora tried, and Kairi turned around to look at him in surprise. It was as if something had been awakened inside of her.

"That's right…" she murmured, "We were together…"

"You know what's funny?" Sora replied softly, thinking that Kairi had meant him, "I looked everywhere for you, but you were with me all along," he added, walking closer to Kairi. "Finally, we're together, Kairi!" he continued triumphantly. Then, his face hardened a little bit, and he breathed in bravely. "Now it's time to get Riku back," he murmured.

Kairi looked away from Sora, again drawn to the crescent moon symbol. "You think it'll ever be the same again, between us?" she asked nervously. "Riku's lost his…" Kairi thought about what it would be like for Riku, having a different body. What if he never looked like his old self again?

"When I turned into a heartless, you saved me, remember?" Sora replied. Kairi nodded. Sora continued, "I was lost in the darkness. I couldn't find my way. As I stumbled through the dark, I started forgetting things- my friends, who I was," Sora spoke softer as he said this, visibly scared. "The darkness almost swallowed me. But then I heard a voice- your voice. You brought me back."

"I didn't want to just forget about you, Sora. I couldn't."

"That's it!" Sora replied happily. "Our hearts are connected. And the light from our hearts broke through the darkness. I saw that light. I think that's what saved me." He stepped away from Kairi then, contemplating within himself.

"No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within," Sora said softly. Then, he remembered Kairi's grandmother. "I guess it's more than just a fairy tale."

Kairi suddenly hopped up a little bit, in excitement. "Then let's go!" she said surely, ready to reunite with Riku. Sora looked back at her seriously. "You can't go," he replied.

"Why not?" Kairi retorted indignantly.

"Because it's way too dangerous."

"Come on, Sora. We made it this far by sticking together. You can't go alone," Kairi tried.

"Kairi, even if we're apart, we're not alone anymore. Right?"

Kairi paused for a moment, disappointed that Sora was using his previous compliment against her now. "I can't help?" Kairi asked softly.

"You'd kind of be in my way," Sora replied, chuckling a little bit.

Kairi laughed, even though it made her sad. "Okay," she finally said, like a good sport. "You win," she added softly, closing her eyes. Then, she pulled out something from her pocket. Her own little project while they had been working on the raft. She'd never gotten the chance to give it to Sora. She'd been too shy. But he needed it now. "Take this," she said, pulling the small charm out of her pocket. Then, she put her hands on her hips, like she was scolding Sora. "It's my lucky charm, so be sure to bring it back to me," she added comically, masking her worry.

"Don't worry, I will."

"Promise?" Kairi asked nervously.

"Promise," Sora finally replied.

And that was the last time they spoke.

…

Kairi sat on her bed, twirling a pencil around in her fingers. She was supposed to be doing homework, but that quickly melted away into deep thought. There were other things on her mind.

She took the time to try and remember her grandmother. She could see an outline of the old woman's face. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and she had black irises. She wore an apron. All it was was an outline. It could have been a description of any old woman. It upset Kairi that she couldn't remember any better. She could remember the story a little.

"I'm so tired," she whispered to herself. Suddenly, there was a knock on her door, and her mother peeked her head in.

"I'm going out for dinner with a couple of friends, and your father has a business meeting. He'll be going for dinner too. Are you going to be okay alone?"

"Yes mom," Kairi said with a smile. Kairi's mother looked at her with narrowed eyes for a moment, and then went over and sat at the side of her bed. "You know, you've changed a lot in this short time," her mother said softly. "You think so much. You're getting so big I can hardly keep up!" she added with a tinkling laugh. Kairi smiled again, and nodded to herself.

"And you're thinking about bigger things. I suppose you've been forced to, these days, but before even, before Riku and Sora you were still thinking big. About your place in the world and such," Kairi's mother laughed, shaking her head. "I tell you, when I was your age, it was all the wiles of boys, and how mysterious they were. And school, I wasn't very good in school. That stressed me out."

"I'm not that good in school, either," Kairi mumbled, feeling a little closer to her mother.

"Oh, I was terrible," her mother said sheepishly. "That's why I became a model. Then, I met your father in an ad campaign for sea foam hair spray. It made your hair smell like you'd just been at the beach. For women who didn't have time to go to the beach," she added with a snigger, realizing how stupid it sounded. "He was opening the beach that I was modeling at. We had our photo shoot a few meters away," she reminisced, "then, I came over to help open the beach. We met, and I started to flirt with him. It helped that-" Her mother's cheeks suddenly flushed, and she smoothed out the covers beside her.

"What helped?" Kairi asked. Kairi's mother shrugged, coughing a little bit. "Oh, just that your father was so sweet," she said with a nervous chuckle. Kairi knew that that wasn't what it was.

"Okay," Kairi said anyway, looking up at the ceiling again. She examined the contours of the wood on it. It was paneled, unpainted. Very beachy.

"You are very pretty," Kairi's mother said softly, stroking Kairi's hair. "You could be a model. Would you like me to take you to an agency?" she added. Kairi looked at her with a puzzled expression. Kairi's mother shrugged. "You know, at this time in young women's lives, they start to wonder if they're pretty or ugly. And I want to tell you that you are _not _an ugly girl. Not in the slightest."

"I don't care if I'm ugly or not," Kairi replied. "I just miss my friends."

"Did you ever feel self conscious around the boys?" Kairi's mother asked. Kairi shook her head. "We never thought about that kind of stuff."

Kairi's mother nodded to herself in surprise, shrugging. "Well, maybe it's just girls who start that sort of thing. That's right, tomboys never seem to worry about that sort of thing until they start hanging around other girls." Then, she clenched her fists, nodding to herself again, as if deciding something. "I'm going to take you to an agency this weekend. I know you're starting to go out with other girls. I don't want them to make you feel ugly. I want you to feel pretty."

She patted Kairi's hand, and smiled, leaving the room. "Be safe!" she said in a singsong voice, and Kairi heard her mother descend the stairs, and then the front door was shut as Kairi's mother and her father both went out to their respective dinners.

Kairi stared back up at the ceiling, furrowing her eyebrows together. Sora's mother said that she used to be a tomboy. Was Kairi's mother a tomboy? She spoke about it as if she was an observant outsider. Not one of them.

Kairi suddenly sat up quickly, wondering if her mother had known Sora's mother and father when they had been younger. Kairi sat on her bed silently for a moment, before standing up abruptly and moving towards the window. She looked out it, staring out over the landscape of Destiny Islands. She looked out across the houses and trees, all the way down to the shore, and then past that, past the island they had known as kids, and on towards the horizon.

She smiled tiredly to herself. The sun was moving down on the horizon, as if it was going under the ocean.

…

Kairi, Sora, and Riku all sat on the gnarled, bent palm tree that they usually did. Sora sat nearest to the top of the tree, Kairi in the middle, and Riku leaned near the trunk, a little away from the other two. He seemed to be in his own world. Ever since they had started the raft, Riku had been deep in thought often.

They all stared out over the horizon quietly, before Sora sat up straighter, and leaned in a little bit, turning to Kairi and Riku. "So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" he asked, breaking the silence.

Riku continued to stare intensely out at the horizon, not even flinching. "Could be," he said lightly, but his face betrayed different, hidden emotions. "We'll never know by staying here."

There was a certain amount of suggestion underlying Riku's words. He peeked out at Sora and Kairi to see their reactions. It was obvious that he was expecting a certain answer in return.

Sora suddenly seemed hesitant to Kairi. He looked out on the horizon briefly, with an expression verging on worry. Then, he swiftly turned back to his friends, and looked at Riku specifically. "But how far could a raft take us?" he asked quietly.

Riku closed his eyes momentarily, softening a little bit. He shrugged, throwing his hands up. "Who knows?" he murmured. Then, he paused, before biting his lip, and retorting, "if we have to, we'll think of something else."

Kairi and Sora looked at one another in curiosity, and slight surprise. Then, Kairi smiled at Riku. "So, suppose you get to another world. What would you do there?" Kairi asked with a laugh.

Riku opened his mouth to respond, before furrowing his eyebrows. "Hm…" he began quietly, thinking. Then, he shrugged. "Well, I haven't really thought about it," he finished a little unsurely. Then, as if to support himself a little, he leaned forward, trying to explain himself. "It's just… I've always wondered why we're here on this island."

Kairi leaned in closer to Riku in deeper surprise, wondering what had changed so suddenly.

"If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?" Riku kept his voice light and uncaring the whole time, but there was a certain subtle bitterness hiding deep beneath the nonchalance. Riku began getting more excited as he explained, though, throwing his arms out in front of him. "And suppose there are other worlds. Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater! So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"

He looked up at Sora expectantly, perhaps for validation, crossing his arms again, shielding his front. Sora thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged, lying back. "I don't know."

Riku smiled. "Exactly," he said triumphantly, uncrossing his arms and looking out over the sea once more. "That's why we need to go out there and find out."

Kairi kept her mouth shut as the boy spoke, looking out thoughtfully ahead of her. "Just sitting here won't change a thing," Riku added.

"_What needs to change, Riku?" _Kairi thought to herself. She looked up, and shook her head a little bit to get the hair out of her eyes, as Riku continued, coming to the point of his explanation. "It's the same old stuff," he snapped. "So let's go."

Kairi looked down at Riku seriously. The way he explained it, it seemed like he didn't want to come back to Destiny Islands at all. "You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" She murmured. Riku looked out on the water indignantly, before turning around to face his friends, looking up at Kairi with that same triumphant expression as before. "Thanks to you," he began, shocking Kairi. "If you hadn't come here I probably never would have thought any of this. Kairi," he added, suddenly looking a little sheepish, "thanks."

Kairi looked at him momentarily, before looking away a little nervously. "You're welcome," she returned quietly.

Not long after that, they parted ways for the night. Kairi rowed back home with them, together, examining Riku a little more seriously than she had before. As they rode back to the mainland, Riku caught Kairi looking at him, and she looked away swiftly, a little embarrassed. Sora didn't notice.

"Riku?" Kairi suddenly asked, and Riku looked back at her as he rowed. "Yeah?" he responded, making Kairi look down at her shoes, thinking of the right words to say.

"So we're really going to do it?" she asked, startled when Riku began to laugh loudly. He smiled back at she and Sora, flashing a wide grin. "Well, yeah! It was never just a game!" When he saw that Kairi was looking at him with an expression bordering on frightened, he frowned, and turned to look forward. "For me, it wasn't. Maybe you babies are too scared to go through with it."

"We are not!" Kairi cried out, hurt by the prospect of being called a coward. Riku looked back at her with a mischievous grin, and her shoulders relaxed.

"We'll all be alright," Riku reassured, looking over at Sora. "Right, Sora?" he said with a snigger. Sora blinked up at him in embarrassment, and stole a glance at Kairi, before going red, and switching back around.

"Did you guys say something about me?" Kairi shouted in objection, and Riku suddenly began to laugh uncontrollably, bending over in a fit of giggles. "Stop it, Riku!" Sora protested, tapping Riku's boat hard with his oars. Riku put one of his oars up, and they began sword fighting with them, swinging them at each other. "Guys, you'll break them!" Kairi shouted, and the two boys eventually stopped, Riku grinning from ear to ear.

The next day, the three worked more vigorously on the raft, finally accepting the gravity of what they were getting themselves into. They laughed and joked, but Riku, who seemed to be getting more restless as the day wore on, kept it to a minimum. At twelve o'clock, they all sat down and ate some lunch with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie.

Afterwards, they split up for a little break from the raft building, and Kairi decided to go and finish up her thalassa shell lucky charm. She wanted to give it to Sora before they left the next day, wondering if the raft was such a good idea after all, with all the stories of ships getting lost at sea. She picked along the beach, looking for the last shell to complete the five star tips for the charm. For some reason, it wasn't showing up as easily as the other four had. After an hour, she gave up for a little while, and went back to see where the others were.

Sora and Riku were talking with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie. They were all laughing and joking. Then, Riku turned to Kairi. "Kairi, me and Sora are going to race to see who's going to be the captain of the raft!"

Kairi beamed, and ran over to them in excitement. Riku looked over at Sora with narrowed eyes, and grinned. "I'll set the mark!" Kairi piped up, and ran to the starting point of the race.

She saw Riku and Sora whisper something to one another. "Okay, on my count!" Kairi said, throwing her arms up. "One… two… three!" Riku and Sora were off, racing each other as if their lives depended on it. Kairi watched them as they went. They ran over the wooden bridge, and Sora began to climb the ladder up to the zip line. Then, he and Riku were momentarily out of sight. Kairi waited a few moments, and then, both of them broke the line of paopu trees behind her, charging over to her as fast as they could. Sora pushed ahead hard, and finally ran up, and almost knocked Kairi over. He grinned up at her with a shining smile, and she grinned back at him, before looking over at Riku in curiosity. He smiled happily, and wiped his forehead with his hand.

"Alright, guys. Fun's over. Let's get back to the raft," he added, and Sora and Kairi nodded. The three parted ways with Selphie, Tidus and Wakka, and then got back to the raft, working on it as fast as they could for the next day, the day they would be setting sail. As Kairi worked, she looked at the sea every once in a while, to see if some sort of shell turned up on the shore. Sure enough, as the sun began to lower in the sky, Kairi peered over the sea once more, and gasped, running out into it.

"Kairi!" Riku shouted at her, a little irritated. "We're not finished yet!"

"I'll just be one moment!" Kairi sang back to him, picking up the small thalassa shell that was washed up on shore. The one that would complete her charm. Then, she turned back to her friends, beaming at them. "Alright! I'm back!"

She ran back to them happily, taking every moment to work on the charm as the sun continued to go down. When twilight descended on the island, Sora peered out at the horizon with pursed lips. "Riku, are we done yet? The sun is setting."

Riku nodded vigorously, concentrating intensely on the raft. "Yep, you two can go to the dock. I'll join you guys in a minute. I've just got to make a few more adjustments, then we can go home."

Sora shrugged, and beckoned for Kairi to come with him to the dock. She looked back at Riku as they left, and thought that he seemed a little lost in his own world.

The two finally reached the dock, and Sora sat down with a sigh, content. Kairi sat down tentatively beside him, looking subtly at the little charm in her pocket.

"You know, Riku has changed," Kairi said suddenly. Sora smiled at her. "What do you mean?" he asked, and Kairi thought about it. "Well…" she began, trying to formulate the right words. Then, she went into deep thought, looking down at the water beneath her. "You okay?" Sora asked with concern.

Kairi clenched her fists around her knees, and looked at Sora suddenly, in desperation. "Sora, let's take the raft and go! Just the two of us!"

Sora looked over at her in disbelief, and she laughed at his expression, shrugging her shoulders. "Just kidding!" she regrouped brightly, still a little worried. She was thinking about what Riku had said. How it was her fault he wanted to leave. And she was thinking about Sora.

"What's gotten into you?" Sora said with a chuckle. "You're the one that's changed, Kairi."

Kairi looked away, a tiny bit disappointed by his response, and confused by her feelings. "Maybe…" she murmured. Then, she brightened up, looking ahead of her, leaning in a little bit so that her elbows touched her knees. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready."

She held the lucky charm in her shaking hand, and prepared to give it to Sora. "No matter where I go or what I see I know I can always come back here. Right?" she added, looking at Sora expectantly. They looked at each other, and then Sora smiled brightly. "Yeah, of course!"

"That's good," Kairi said in response. "Sora, don't ever change," she added, and nervous excitement coursed through her as she stood up. Perhaps she didn't trust her friends enough. She had to believe that they would look after her. Then she could be truly excited. "I just can't wait!" she said willfully. "Once we set sail, it'll be great."

Kairi didn't know _how _exactly it would be great. But she had to believe it. Maybe the trip would fix them all, in their own individual way. Maybe Kairi could help Riku, and Sora, and even herself. Maybe she would remember.

"Sora…" she began, and pulled the charm out of her pocket. As Sora turned towards her, there was a shout from a distance, and they both looked over to see Riku running towards them. Kairi shoved the charm in her pocket in embarrassment, and looked away from the two boys as Riku patted Sora excitedly on the shoulder. "Tomorrow is almost here! Can you believe it? Life is about to change big for us."

"Yeah!" Sora said with relish, looking back at Kairi. "What was it that you wanted to say, Kairi?"

"Just that I'm happy we're all going together," Kairi piped up quickly, making Sora smile. They all hugged each other before they left. When they got into their boats, Riku eyed them both expectantly. "Make sure you two wake up on time tomorrow, we've got a big day ahead of us!"

"Right!" Sora shouted, pulling out from the dock last. "See you two tomorrow!" Kairi added, and the three of them were off back home to pack for their coming adventure, completely oblivious. Of everything.

….

Kairi was jolted awake by the sound of her mother and father coming back inside from their nights out. It was evident that they had gone out somewhere together afterwards, because they were giggling and running into things downstairs. The mayor began to sing softly to his wife, and she returned it, some old song from when they had gotten together.

Kairi felt her cheek, and noticed that it was wet. She rubbed her eyes in irritation, and folded her arms in front of her. Memories were barraging her thoughts lately. She couldn't get them to go away.

"Why can't you just leave?" she growled to the thin air around her. There was a click inside her, and she felt her chest and her forehead respectively, nervously. "Wait," she said, shaking her head and sitting up. "I take it back. It's okay. I just forgot for a second," she whispered. "But it won't happen again. I promise I won't do it again."

There was silence around her, and she became frustrated. "Do you not believe me?" She whispered, almost inaudibly. The air hung around her, and she suddenly felt very hot. She felt encaged. So she opened the window, feeling the sea breeze come in and caress her cheek, drying it.

She sat on the windowsill for a little while with furrowed eyebrows, thinking about things. For the life of her, she couldn't remember the memory that had come into her head just a second ago. Maybe she was just tired. The day had taken a lot out of her.


	6. Week 5

Kairi finished her poem and picked it up, skimming through its contents with satisfaction.

_Though you are miles away_

_I know I'll see you again someday_

_The weeks get longer _

_And I've begun to wonder_

_Why it's taking you so long_

_But I'll keep my eyes open _

_Out on the ocean_

_Because you made a promise_

_And I'm sure you'll keep it _

_Because that's the type of person you are_

Kairi scratched her head as she read the last part, thinking that maybe the poem wasn't as good as she'd previously thought it was. She scratched out the last few lines and bit her lip, wondering what would sound better on the end. Then, she wrote down something new.

_Because I gave you that charm_

_I know that you'll come to no harm_

_And you promised you'd bring it back. _

_So bring it back. _

She scribbled out the last line again, huffing loudly. Then, she banged her head on her little desk, groaning. "Why am I in this club?" she said quietly. She thought that writing was fun. But she wasn't a very good writer after all.

She thought about high school. Already kids were talking about what 'program' they wanted to get into. There were three programs in the high school. The math and science based program, the liberal arts based program, and the trade based program. The trade program had a bad reputation for being the program for 'stupid' kids, because it prepared kids for a job upon leaving high school, instead of college necessarily. Kairi wondered which program she would be put into. She thought that maybe she could have been in the liberal arts program, but she just wasn't smart.

Riku had always impressed the teachers. They had all told him mid-year in 10th grade that he was set for the math and science program. He was the valedictorian of his class, until he started losing care. His grades began to slip, and teachers kept asking him what was wrong. They didn't know what he was planning on doing. They didn't know what any of the three kids were planning on doing. Running away.

Kairi wondered why she had been so scared of Riku, the few days before they were supposed to go off on the raft. For her, it had been a game. It was like a fantasy. Then, towards the end, she began to realize that it was real for Riku. The danger of it. He had accepted that he might not see his family again, quite readily.

"_You guys are my family."_

Kairi pondered on the memory, and thought about it momentarily, letting it seep through her.

…..

Riku was working on the raft feverishly as Kairi splashed around in the waves with Sora, laughing and running around, chasing after him as fast as she could.

"Guys, stop messing around!" Riku shouted at them, turning back to the raft and continuing to shape the logs on the bottom of it together. "I just need some more string," he muttered to himself, huffing. "Did you bring your dad's old tarp, Sora?" Riku hollered, and Sora looked at him with a grin. "What did you want, Riku?" he asked, making Riku scowl. "I said did you bring the tarp!"

Sora had to think about it for a moment. Then, he shouted a gleeful 'yes', and ran off to his boat to get the tarp he'd said he would bring. As he ran off, Riku chuckled to himself and shook his head. "I would have been really ticked off if he had have forgotten."

"Aw, you wouldn't have, Riku!" Kairi laughed. Riku glared at her, before breaking under her smiles, sighing. "I guess I'd cut him some slack, yeah," he admitted, and Kairi ran out from the water, coming over to sit beside him. "How far along are we?"

"You'd know if you were helping," Riku muttered, making Kairi pout a little bit. "We were just taking a little break from the work," she murmured. Riku raised his eyes to the sky as she said this, and then closed them, shrugging to himself and nodding a little bit. "I know, I know. I'm just really serious about this. Sorry if I'm angry all the time."

"Not angry. Just really intense," Kairi replied. "Why are you so intense these days, Riku?"

"I just really want this," Riku sighed, deep in thought.

"You want to run away?"

Riku pursed his lips, pausing to think on it. His eyes stared ahead of him coldly as he ran things over in his mind. Then he shrugged coolly. "It's boring here."

"But we have fun all the time, Riku!" Kairi shouted happily. She was surprised when Riku stared at her with another intense glare. "Kairi, we're not going to be kids forever!" he snapped. "One day, we'll be expected to change. Get a job, go to college, get married, have kids, and then die!"

Kairi stared at Riku blankly, who was suddenly incomprehensible to her. He shook his head as he dug one of the sticks he held into the sand, twisting it around savagely into the little grains of glass. "I don't know, I just can't settle for that. Not with the odds against me," he muttered. His eyes held pain.

"What do you mean, Riku?" Kairi whispered. Riku stopped digging the stick into the sand and looked up at Kairi with an open mouth, as if he was going to say something important. Suddenly, though, Sora came running back to them with the tarp over his head like a ghost.

"Ooohh!" Sora said in an ethereal, wispy voice, his hands raised in the air as he stalked towards Riku. The vulnerability in Riku's eyes vanished as he puffed out his chest when Sora came closer to him. "Sora, what are you doing? You're such a kid," he teased, making Sora rip the tarp off of his head in protest. "I am not a kid, I'm fourteen!" Sora snapped, and folded his arms in front of him angrily. Riku laughed as Sora said this, shaking his head at the boy and trying not to snort. "You don't act like you're fourteen."

With that, they were off. Sora desperately tried to catch Riku, who easily ran ahead of him. Then, in the blink of an eye, Sora's will increased tenfold, and he caught up to Riku, lunging at him like a wildcat. This burst of energy surprised Riku, who until then had been taking the chase simply as a good jog. They both fell to the ground and began to wrestle, rolling around in the sand and shouting at one another.

Kairi laughed at them and playfully told them to stop. They eventually did, and then they got the tarp onto the raft. By that time, the whole thing was pretty near completion.

"Wow," Sora said, looking at the little majesty in front of them. "We really did it, didn't we?"

"We? You mean I," Riku snorted. Sora nudged him in the stomach, all the while smiling widely. "This is going to be great," then, his smile faded a little bit, his eyes clouding. "I wonder what my mom would say if we actually left."

"I don't care what my mother would say," Riku muttered, breaking away from his friends.

Kairi gaped at Riku. "Why not? What about your family?"

Riku bent his head, sticking his feet in the sand. "You guys are my family," he murmured, looking up at Kairi and Sora shyly. There was a pause, as Riku waited for their reactions, almost fearfully. The two looked at one another, beginning to grin. Then, they toppled onto Riku, giving him an enormous hug.

"We're best friends!" Sora almost sang, trying to squeeze the life out of Riku and Kairi with the strength of his hug. Riku nodded. "Since you guys are my family, we've got to stick together. There's no backing out or running off, Sora."

"Aw, why are you picking on me?" Sora wailed.

Riku smiled at him. "Because you're the loose one. You're not grounded. So you've got to remember us. Remember Kairi and I."

"Yeah, yeah, relax, Riku," Sora huffed, rolling his eyes. "You'll always be my best friend."

"Good," Riku replied in relief. Kairi pouted. "What about me, guys?"

Sora peered at her from under his brown hair, and then blushed, bending his head in the hopes that Kairi and Riku would not see it. "You're important to me, too, Kairi. You're my best friend, too," he mumbled. Riku laughed, and slapped Sora on the back. "It's just the three of us, always has been."

"Always will," Sora and Kairi finished together, laughing under the setting sun.

…..

It was warmer than usual outside, and Kairi decided to take a trip to the island. She hadn't been in a long time. When she got there, there were a small group of younger children playing there. There were two girls and a young boy. The girls were attempting to braid the boy's curls, and he sat obliviously, concentrating solely on the sandcastle in front of him.

Kairi couldn't help but smile as she watched the three kids. As Kairi stared down at the progress of the braids, and the sand castle, one of the girls looked up straight up at her and caught Kairi staring. They stood momentarily, looking at one another, before Kairi went a little bit red, looking away suddenly, busying herself with whatever she could think of. She peered up at the sky and began to walk off like she was preoccupied, but she could feel the girl looking at her as she walked away.

She went up past one of the old huts on the island, into the trees and past the waterfall. She could hear the water hammering down into the water basin behind her, as she entered the secret place that she and Sora had used to draw their paopu fruit pictures. Sitting down in the middle of the floor, Kairi looked around her, taking in every detail of the dark cave. Pictures were all over the walls, most were written with stone, but there were a few tiny pencil scratchings on the walls that Kairi had not noticed before. One of them read 'J.D. loves K'.

Kairi laughed to herself, wondering what it meant. She suddenly thought of Kuroha, and snorted. She doubted that Kuroha would have come on this island. Then, she moved over to the old door that had held back the heartless that encroached the island before the three of them had been separated. Kairi went over with hesitation, peering in the keyhole of the door in curiosity. There was only darkness beyond it, not an ounce of movement. Suddenly she felt a cold chill running down her arms, and she rubbed at them quickly, trying to get them to warm up. When she examined the door more closely, she noticed that there were some etchings on the bottom of it. She kneeled down near the bottom of the door to get a closer look and saw that the etchings were just a row of X's, along each panel of wood that had been inlaid on the door.

The X's were etched crudely, almost angrily, across the bottom of the door. Kairi wondered what the significance of them was. She messed with her necklace as she sat, trying to think what it was all about, running the little thing over her fingers smoothly. Then, Kairi gave up, standing up in preparation to leave. She patted her purple skirt down, which was getting a little small on her legs. She huffed as she remembered that soon she would need new shoes. She'd told her mother that her current slip-ons were perfect even though they gave her blisters. She didn't want to be parted with them. She also needed a haircut, which she _did _want. Her mother wanted her to grow her hair out, but Kairi would not have it. Long hair was harder to manage.

The chills got longer and more frequent in the secret place, and Kairi decided to leave, going out past the waterfall and down to the other side of the beach where the children were not. She slipped off her shoes and ran into the ocean, crying out in slight pain as the salt water came into contact with the blisters on her toes. Then, she stood for a moment, letting the cold saline water wash over her feet, hopefully helping them a little bit. She wished her feet wouldn't grow so fast. Perhaps they would even grow as large as Karina's feet. Kairi had been in a PE class with her last year, and the girl really did have unfortunately sized feet.

Stepping out of the water, Kairi wiped her toes off on the little bushes nearby the beach sand, and then went back and laid down on it, sunbathing a little bit. She looked up at the sky as the wind blew gently past her, moving her hair over her eyes. She swiped it away without thought, but the wind returned it over her eyes. She finally sighed, closing her eyes and trying not to think about anything. She pictured the clouds moving past her in her head. They took on different shapes as they travelled slowly past her: a boat, a beach ball, a parasol, a swimsuit, a raft, and a charm. Her eyes fluttered open as a shadow was cast over her and she peered up at it.

"Hey, Kairi, what are you doing on this side of the island?" a familiar voice murmured, and Kairi blinked back tears. The face formulated in front of her, and she could see the familiar honey brown, gravity defying spikes that belonged to her best friend.

"Sora!" she whispered almost inaudibly, and the boy laughed. "What did you say?" he asked amicably, and Kairi wiped at her eyes in disbelief, groggily lifting herself up from the ground to look at the boy in front of her. When her vision unclouded, she saw that it was not Sora.

"Hi Tidus," Kairi mumbled tiredly, making Tidus giggle lightly. "What the heck, Kairi? Are you not happy to see me?" He joked, but Kairi waved him off in dejection, suddenly tired of being around him. "I'm fine. I'm just… not happy."

Tidus' smile wiped off his face, and he grabbed Kairi's arm and stared at her intensely. His blue eyes shone forth from his tan skin. As Kairi looked down at him, she noticed that he was maturing a little bit. He was losing the baby fat around his face, and his neck and shoulders were becoming broader. "Kairi, are you okay?" he whispered, pulling her closer to him. She shook her head, suddenly feeling dizzy. "I don't know what happened…"

Her heart suddenly hurt, and a lump rose in her throat. She was beginning to feel sick. "I'm really sorry, Tidus, I just feel awful…" she started, teetering a little bit in his arms. He caught her haphazardly, picking her up the best he could. He wasn't anywhere near as strong as Riku had been. Sora probably would have had a little bit of trouble holding her up too. Then, she frowned.

"Am I fat?" she mumbled to Tidus, and he suddenly broke out in laughter, shaking his head. "You're crazy, Kairi, were you smoking some paopu leaves?"

"You can smoke paopu leaves?" Kairi asked in surprise, blinking up at Tidus with narrowed eyes. Tidus nodded at her with a smile. "Yeah, yeah you definitely can."

"How did you know that?" Kairi returned. Tidus suddenly blushed, chuckling a little nervously. "Let's get you to the boat."

He rowed Kairi back to the main island, and by that time, the gentle push and pull of the waves on the boat made her feel much better. She hopped out of the boat easily, stretching a little bit. "I don't know what happened," she said suddenly, rubbing her eyes once more and sighing heavily. Tidus shrugged. "You were really pale. Are you sure you're alright now?"

"Yeah, Tidus, I'm fine. I just felt really sick for a moment there," she mumbled. "It was a weird sensation, like when you get so nervous you want to vomit."

"I've never gotten that nervous," Tidus replied halfheartedly, looking down at the floor with darkened eyes. Kairi raised her eyebrows at him, chuckling a little bit. "Tidus, what's the matter?"

He shrugged again, shaking his head quickly and walking a little bit ahead of her. "I get in trouble a lot in school these days. And I suppose that… never mind," he muttered quickly, stalking off on Kairi. "Wait, Tidus," she shouted, trying to stop him, but he kept going. She had to run in order to catch up to him, and even when she did he attempted to walk ahead of her at breakneck speed. His eyes looked forward like daggers. Kairi figured that he just didn't want to talk, so she didn't ask what was wrong. "You're only in 8th grade, Tidus," she said softly. "You've got to relax a little bit."

The sandy shore ended and moved into sea grass, which Kairi and Tidus hopped over easily. Then, they moved onto the cobblestone path into town. The whole trip there, they walked in silence, each thinking deeply.

….

Kairi charged for the school along with Wakka, who was thoroughly irritated. He had waited for her for over a half an hour outside her door, not knowing that she had slept in by accident. She really hated being high maintenance, so she charged ahead like her life depended on it, smiling back at him with pinked cheeks.

"We can make it on time, Wakka!" she piped up, and shot her head back around, weaving in through an alleyway short cut. Wakka kept up beside her, huffing a little bit. "This is ridiculous, why didn't you use your alarm clock?"

"Because I must have turned it off by accident or something," Kairi snapped, charging faster. She heard Wakka sighing behind her, and she suddenly felt herself becoming upset. She didn't want him to be angry with her, but she couldn't go much faster without near killing herself, and she really didn't want to push it that far just so that they could get to school on time. "Maybe you should just carry me or something," she said jokingly, and Wakka's face brightened up a little bit. "Would you like that?" he said bravely, and Kairi frowned as she ran, charging faster as a response. "I can look after myself," she muttered, and cried out in delight as the school came into view.

Wakka said goodbye quickly and went into the high school gates, and Kairi veered off towards the junior high, slowing down so that she would not smack into a school wall as she blasted towards the building. She was panting heavily, and as she finally slowed down, she wobbled on unsteady legs, going very dizzy. She was afraid she was going to pass out, so she knelt down by the wall and put her head between her legs to get the blood flowing into it. She breathed in and out slowly for a good five minutes until she felt like she could walk again, and then she got up very slowly, stepping carefully inside the school and towards her classroom. She used the wall for support against her shaking legs, knowing that they would hurt the next day. When she finally got to the class, the teacher saw the state she was in, and decided to cut her some slack.

The teacher handed out a quiz for the kids to take, and Kairi rolled her eyes as the sheet of paper was put in front of her, looking at the words at it without being able to concentrate. "You have fifteen minutes to complete this. Then, we're going to move onto the next unit! You'll have a short test on the last four units next Thursday and I'll hand out the review for the midterms so you can begin it. I want you to look over and try to do as many problems as you can, and we'll review the ones you had trouble with on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday."

Kairi tried not to groan, remembering that the midterms were 15 days away. At least it wasn't one week. Kairi did her quiz quickly, but found that it was hard to keep her mind on the paper in front of her. It kept traveling to other places.

The bell finally rang, and Kairi was about to exit the class, when the teacher held her back. Kairi moved over to the teacher's desk in dismay, wondering what had happened this time. The woman got her things together as she spoke to Kairi, peering at the girl over her wide rimmed glasses. "You know, if it had been your language teacher, he wouldn't have been as easy on you."

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked flatly, making the science teacher chuckle. "Letting you come in late. He keeps talking about his 'method' of dealing with you in the teacher's lounge. It's a little grating," she added, frowning after she'd said it, as if wondering if it was permissible. Kairi shrugged.

The teacher stared at Kairi momentarily, observing her. Then, she pointed her finger at Kairi with pursed lips. "The thing is, I don't know if you're the type of person who becomes puffed with defiant energy when you're stepped on. He's testing your ability to bounce back, you know."

"I don't need to bounce back," Kairi murmured. "Nothing's happened."

"Kairi, what are you planning on doing in high school?" the teacher asked, making Kairi blink at her in surprise, then shrug. "I don't know. I suppose the vocational program."

The teacher sighed at this, shaking her head. "What are you planning on being when you grow up?"

"I don't know," Kairi retorted. "I haven't thought that far ahead."

"I know it's hard to think about it, but you've got to start. You're good at science."

Kairi blinked up at the woman as she said this, this time in deeper surprise than ever. The teacher smiled at her. "I could tutor you. I really want to see you in a good program in high school. I think you're very smart."

"I'm not smart," Kairi mumbled. The teacher reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I think that you are very smart. That's why I said it. You've got to believe in yourself. No one is going to do it for you."

Kairi bent her head low as the teacher said this, nodding. The woman waited for Kairi to respond, but seeing that the girl did not want to, the woman nodded to herself and headed for the door, letting Kairi alone. Kairi stood at the head of the classroom as the kids behind her talked. Then, she went out of the classroom and towards the bathroom, looking ahead blankly as she walked. When she got inside, she peered at herself in the mirror, moving her face from side to side, following the movement with her eyes. She looked more tired than usual.

She wondered why everyone was taking such an interest in her. Did she look worse these days? She gasped as she stared closer into the mirror, noticing that there was a pimple in between her eyebrows, forming. She pouted, wondering if she was stressing out an abnormal amount. Then, she thought that that was a stupid question. After everything that had happened, stress was normal.

"What is happening to you, Kairi?" She whispered. Kairi jumped as she heard a toilet flush behind her. The stall door opened, and a girl a year younger walked out of it, looking up at Kairi from underneath thick bangs. She smiled widely, her braces blaring up at Kairi under the heavy overhead lights. They nearly blinded Kairi, and she blinked a little bit, smiling back at the girl with a closed mouth.

"I'm really sorry about your friend," the girl blurted out, and Kairi shrugged. "Yeah, it was sad. I miss them."

"Did another one go missing?" the girl gasped, and Kairi furrowed her eyebrows, looking back down at the girl and trying not to chuckle. "Sora. They went missing at the same time."

The girl narrowed her eyes at Kairi and shook her head. "Only one boy disappeared. Says so in the papers."

"There were two," Kairi said dangerously, but the girl didn't skip a beat, heading past Kairi to wash her hands. "Just one. Did you read today's papers? They just printed them. They said that the police have ruled that it was the raft thing. He wanted to 'escape'. At least curfew and the buddy system are over now," she added sympathetically, patting Kairi on the arm after she'd dried her hands off. Kairi's skin recoiled underneath the girl's touch, and she gritted her teeth inside her closed mouth. "There were two boys. Sora and Riku," Kairi replied.

"I know that you're sad about your friend, but that doesn't mean you have to make up another one," the girl retorted jokingly, smiling at Kairi again. The anger that Kairi had had inside of her had turned into utter shock. She couldn't even move as the girl left, couldn't even walk close to her. Kairi took a few moments to recuperate, breathing heavily in front of the mirror, before charging back to class. When she got inside, her heart sank. Her language teacher was staring at her from where he had been writing on the board. He stared at her triumphantly.

"You are late."

"I was in the bathroom," she pleaded, the anger rising inside her. "I think I'm going to be sick," she added, shaking. The teacher chuckled, and shook his head. "Sit down. You're lucky I'm letting you off this time."

"I need to go back," Kairi said lowly. "Can I see a newspaper?" she added, and the teacher looked at her strangely, beginning to worry. "Why don't you go to the nurse's office," he mumbled, and Kairi peeled out of the classroom, trying her best to run away from what was encroaching inside of her. She shook it off madly as she ran, finally reaching the nurse's office at breakneck speed. "Why were you running in the halls? You're in junior high school, not elementary," the old woman snapped, signaling for Kairi to sit down in a chair and wait for her to come get her. The old woman got out a bandage for a girl who had scraped her knee pretty bad during sports. Then, the woman came in with a cup of water for Kairi.

"Do you have a newspaper?" Kairi blurted out, and the woman chuckled. "You are a strange duck. I have last week's in my handbag, never got to read it. Do you want that one?"

"No, it has to be this week's," Kairi muttered, rubbing her arms which had become cold again. The woman shook her head. "Sorry, don't have that one." Then, she shuffled back into her office, scribbling some notes down at her desk. "Stay for a little while," she added, and Kairi noticed that she was finishing copying a recipe from her computer.

"So how is the mayor doing?" she piped up, jogging Kairi from her frazzled state. "He's fine, I guess," Kairi said simply. The woman chortled loudly. "Yeah, I bet. With all this disappearance scandal. Sad little thing. Those waves took my brother, too," she added, pointing to herself savagely. "We dock dwellers deal with that. My own daughter was nearly swept from my arms when she was a baby. But I tell you, I fought that wave like a tiger!" she snapped, banging her fist on the desk in front of her. Kairi couldn't help but smile. "That's fine, granny," she said quietly. The woman stared at her closely, peering at her through squinty eyes. "Were you the friend?" she asked. Kairi nodded. The woman went silent, swaying back and forth in her seat with a sad sigh. "I'm sorry about your friend."

"There were two," Kairi snapped. The woman looked at her in deep surprise, and simply nodded with upheld hands. "If you say so, you'd know better than me."

Kairi felt a sense of relief wash over her, and she nodded to herself with a smile. "Yeah, thanks."

….

Kairi stalked over to the supermarket and bought a newspaper immediately after school. Wakka peered at the article she was reading over her shoulder, furrowing his eyebrows. "That's crazy."

"I know, they totally forgot Sora," Kairi said breathlessly. The article subtitle read, _'disappearance of young boy solved; the waves win out again.' _

Underneath it was a picture of Riku. His mother must have taken it. The boy stared out at the camera intensely, frowning heavily. A caption read, _"young boy taken by stormy waters off the coast of Destiny Islands." _

Kairi skimmed through the article, gritting her teeth. There was absolutely no sign of Sora. She huffed out a breath, throwing the newspaper down and staring at it with an intense glare. Wakka looked at her nervously and began bending down to pick up the newspaper, before Kairi stopped him. "I'll pick it up," she muttered, swiping the piece of paper off the ground and setting it back on top of the supermarket's paper rack. Wakka stared at her in upset surprise, throwing his arms out around him in confusion. "What is wrong with you?"

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked. "You just paid for it and put it back," Wakka replied.

"I don't want that paper anywhere near me," Kairi retorted.

"Yeah, sure you can just buy the whole rack, but at least have a little respect and take the paper," Wakka mumbled, making Kairi clench her fists. "Why would you say that?" she asked. "Someone else can read that paper now. I don't need it anymore, I've seen what I wanted."

She began to walk away, and Wakka followed after her, lagging a little bit. "Who's this 'Sora', anyway?" he asked absentmindedly. Kairi stopped abruptly, and stood momentarily. Then, she turned around slowly and looked up at Wakka in disbelief. He stared back down at her with innocent curiosity. "What?" he asked genuinely. Kairi gaped at him, dumbfounded.

"Sora. Sora with the spikey hair. Sora who we always played with. Sora my best friend," she said. When Wakka couldn't figure out who it was, she went into an elaborate description of him, trying to get every last detail. Wakka still couldn't figure out whom she was talking about. "Maybe I didn't know him that well. I'll remember," he added lightly. Kairi nodded absentmindedly to herself, getting that sick feeling that she had felt yesterday.

"I have to go to the detective's office," Kairi mumbled, walking towards the office near the docks. Wakka decided to let her go on her own. When she got to the door, she peeked in the office to see if anyone was in there. A young policeman was sitting at a desk in the back, filing papers. When he noticed Kairi, he turned around and strutted towards her amicably, holding out his hand for her to shake. "Hey, what do you need?" he asked.

"I talked to an older detective yesterday, in charge of the case of Riku and Sora," Kairi said quickly. The man looked at her oddly. "We've only got a Riku on file."

"Who's in charge of that one?" Kairi said quickly.

"That would be Smith and Barrett."

Kairi remembered Smith. She had been the woman who had interrogated Kairi at her school. Barrett must have been the man she'd spoken with the last time she came to the police office. "Where are they?" Kairi asked.

The young policeman shrugged and moved back to filing papers. "They're off on a case. I think it's actually to do with Riku. But they could be doing another one. They work together a lot."

Kairi bit her lip in disappointment, said thank you, and left. She really wanted to talk to them, to see if they had gotten any information on Sora. Why was he going out of everyone's memories so fast?

….

Elyon and Kairi, as usual, sat at the piano in the storage room, composing music. Elyon tapped aimlessly at the keys, and smiled suddenly. "You know, the music teacher has been tutoring me for free after school each day," she said in excitement.

"That's great!" Kairi responded.

Elyon nodded at this, pleased with herself. "He has a lot of hope for me. I have more money now for my after school tutoring sessions. It's in that tutoring house at the end of Main Street. Maybe you should enroll there," she added. Kairi chuckled. "I don't want to."

"Why not? It's so important for the finals! The school is really good, too. It's not just cramming; they're actually really conscientious. A new person is in charge, a woman. She has a lot of care for the students."

"I just don't want to have to study for a test I'm going to fail anyway," Kairi muttered. She was shocked when Elyon downright laughed at her. "How can you think like that? That's so stupid. You've got to try," Elyon added.

"Have you been talking to the science teacher?" Kairi asked suspiciously, and Elyon nodded. "Actually, she came to me. She told me to form a study group with you. I thought that maybe if we went to tutoring together, we'd be able to compare notes better."

Kairi was surprised and touched by the honesty that Elyon had expressed, and shrugged. "I guess I'll think about it. Things have been a little crazy for me lately, though."

"I understand. It's hard losing a friend," she said quietly. "Two," Kairi corrected, and Elyon blinked at her. "There was another one?" she asked. Kairi sighed, her shoulders sagging. "Sora was my other friend. They disappeared at the same time."

Elyon's eyes became dark and brooding, but she acquiesced to Kairi's correction, shrugging. "I didn't know," she said flatly, going back to playing the piano. "Do you think I'm making it up?" Kairi said in a strangled tone. Elyon stopped playing, and looked ahead of her sadly. "I don't know, Kairi. I only knew of the one that disappeared."

"Sora was in our classes," Kairi tried. She described Sora again, but Elyon continued to stare ahead blankly. "I'm sorry, Kairi. I can't remember."

Kairi looked down at the black and white keys before her in defeat, bending her head down low. She rested it against the front of the piano, and Elyon began to quietly play again.

Kairi listened to the song as Elyon played it, closing her eyes. Then, Kairi began to fiddle with the keys a little bit, playing a mindless melody of her own. Elyon began softly playing harmony as Kairi continued to let her fingers go across the keys slowly. The song was undeniably sad, and seemed to register with Kairi on a deeper level than she had anticipated. It made her chest hurt; so she stopped playing, letting Elyon pick up the slack.

As Kairi listened, she heard her heartbeat in her ear. Then, it divided, and two heartbeats overlapped one another. She felt her chest, wondering if it was Sora's heart, or if she was just imagining its division.

"My heart isn't working properly anymore," she muttered. Elyon stopped playing, and stared at Kairi expressionlessly.

"What do you mean?"

Kairi shrugged. "I feel like a half of me is gone."

"Well, your friends were a major part of you life. You probably miss them."

"How do you get used to people being gone?" Kairi asked. Elyon looked ahead of her aimlessly again. "You don't really. You just kind of forget things about them. Forget the feelings you had when they were around."

"Forget?" Kairi asked in fright. Elyon shrugged. "That's what I think of it as. I guess it's more of a disassociation. The acceptance thing. It's like the steps of grieving."

"What if they're not dead?" Kairi tried. Elyon pursed her lips, thinking about it. "You assume that they're gone."

"But what if they come back and everyone has forgotten about them."

Elyon shrugged again and it seemed like she was becoming a little bit irritated. "I don't know. These questions are hard, Kairi," she grumbled, banging on the keys in front of her. Then, she sighed and sat back a little, stretching. "Have you gotten something together for the test?"

Kairi shrugged. "I think I'll just sing something. I'll sing my crappy poem."

"Let me read it!" Elyon said in excitement. Kairi reluctantly pulled the little poem she had been working on out of her backpack, and handed it over to Elyon to read. The girl skimmed over it, nodding slowly as she read. "It's… good. Needs a little work."

"I know it's bad, you don't have to pretend it's not," Kairi scowled, but Elyon stopped her. "I didn't say it was bad. You're just not confident in yourself. You're writing self-consciously. Who are you trying to impress?"

"The language teacher. The creative writing club," Kairi chanced. Elyon looked at her with a stoic expression. "How about trying to impress Sora?" she replied. Kairi whipped her head up to look at Elyon when she said this, gaping in surprise. "You remember?"

Elyon smiled, but shook her head, handing the piece of paper back to Kairi. "Make me remember," she murmured lightly, and returned to the piano, improvising tunes as she went along.

…

Kairi waited for Sora and Riku by the docks, looking out across the beach to see if they were coming. Finally, she spotted Sora's head bobbing from behind some of the bushes on the way down to the beach, and then Riku and Sora came into sight, talking and laughing together. Kairi shouted for them to come over, and they did, running as fast as they could.

"You finally got out of piano!" Sora said with glee, almost skipping over to Kairi. Kairi giggled and rolled her eyes. "I thought I'd never get out!"

"Are you going to continue playing?" Riku asked. Kairi shrugged. "I don't know. It's kind of boring," she sighed, putting her fists on her hips. Riku scowled. "I wish I could play piano. You've got to learn so that you can teach me," he said earnestly. "My mom doesn't have the money for lessons."

"Maybe I can ask my parents to pay for it!" Kairi said loudly, and Riku gaped at her in anger. "Are you _serious? _Why would you do that? No!" he got defensive, and folded his arms in front of him, suddenly self-conscious and brooding. Kairi closed her mouth, hurt. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. Sora looked at Riku angrily. "You didn't have to say that, Riku!" he muttered, and Riku looked at him swiftly. "Why are you all of a sudden so into Kairi? I thought you were _my _friend!"

"We're all friends, Riku!" Sora said, getting very upset. Kairi folded her hands over each other and bent her head a little bit. "I'm sorry for making you guys fight," she mumbled. Riku looked at her sadly, and growled in irritation. "I'm sorry, Kairi, I didn't mean it. It's just another birthday is rolling around and I know I'm not getting anything," he said, deeply upset. "And my mom keeps sending me to school with no lunch. She says I can ask you for some of your stuff since you have money," he said shakily, and Kairi was certain he was addressing her. She suddenly felt very uncomfortable, and went unsurely towards Riku, patting him on the shoulder. "I can give you lunch, if you'd like."

"I don't want your lunch," Riku sniffled, wiping tears away from his eyes. "I'm tired of skiving off of people. I've got to get out of here!" he hissed in between sobs. "I've got to make my own way, but I know I can't depend on myself to get myself through."

"I'll get you through," Sora whispered, sitting down beside Riku and hugging him tightly. Kairi wrapped her hands around both of them, and Riku looked over at her shyly, feeling her head resting on the back of his neck. He blushed a little bit and smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"We'll always stick by each other, Riku!" Sora shouted, pumping his fist into the air. "We'll fly away in a big air boat!"

"What? That's impossible!" Riku replied, getting thoroughly excited anyway. "Why not just a regular boat?"

"A regular boat wouldn't escape storms," Sora reasoned. Riku thought about it, and then nodded vigorously, trying his best not to jump up and down. "Right, right! That's perfect!"

He charged down to the end of the dock, and undid his boat. "Come on!" he shouted at Kairi and Sora, and they charged over to him.

They all rowed over to the little island, talking loudly in excitement, as they grew closer. They finally touched down on the shore, tied their boats in, and strode towards the beach.

"So the sky boat would have to be able to fly on the air," Riku started up again. "It would have to be hollow, like bird's bones."

"We could put helium in it!" Sora shouted proudly, having learned about the noble gasses in science just a few days ago. But Riku shook his head. "No, helium could blow up. What if we were struck by lightning?"

Sora brooded at this, trying to come up with something else. Riku finally smiled and jumped up and down a little bit. "What if we tried to door at the back of the cave?" he asked. Kairi suddenly got an uneasy feeling, and shook her head. "I don't think that we should open it."

"Why not?" Riku asked defensively, folding his arms in front of him. "We don't know what's inside of it! We've got to see!"

"Okay," Kairi finally acquiesced, not wanting to be difficult. They all traveled towards the cave past the waterfall in excitement, going into the darkness with shallow breaths. The place was innocent enough; children had played in it for a long time. But the door made Kairi uneasy. She stayed near the entrance to the cave as Sora and Riku stepped towards the door. Riku examined the door, and put his hand around the doorknob. "You ready?" he asked Sora, and the boy nodded. Riku was just about to open it, when Kairi suddenly felt terror coming up from inside of her. It escaped her throat as she screamed, and she raced towards Riku, pulling him away from the door. He looked at her in surprise, but backed away from the door. "Are you okay?" he asked nervously as Kairi herded the two of them out of the cave.

She stomped her foot on the ground, and pointed her finger at both of the boys. "We can't open that door! It's closed for a reason!"

"But I want to!" Riku snapped angrily. He and Kairi stared at each other momentarily, then, he gave in. "Fine, I won't open it. But only for your sake."

Kairi nodded in relief. "Thanks, Riku."

Riku blushed as she said this, shrugging. "You're welcome."

The rest of their day passed by uneventfully enough, until the evening. "I need to go to the bathroom," Sora announced, and charged off into the woods to find a suitable place to pee. Kairi laughed as he ran off, smiling at Riku in satisfaction. "Today was a pretty good day!" she sighed, laying back on the sand. Riku looked at her, and suddenly reached out and held her hand. She stared at him in surprise, and smiled back at him as he smiled at her. Then, he pulled a crumpled up flower out of his pocket. "I got it for you on the main island. I picked it in the morning. And then my mom and I got into a fight. I didn't want to give it to you till now."

"Well thank you Riku," Kairi said softly, smelling the flower with satisfaction. "That was very nice of you."

"It's nothing," Riku whispered. "Do you like me?" he added. Kairi shrugged. "I like both of you."

"Who do you think is stronger?" Riku asked. Kairi shrugged. "I don't know."

"You can be honest."

"I think you're both strong… but you get really sad sometimes."

"Is that bad?" Riku asked quietly. Kairi shook her head and said no. "I wonder how Sora copes without a dad," she added softly. "He never cries."

Riku was silent for a moment. Then he coughed a little bit, nodding to himself decisively. "Well, then. You don't have to worry about me anymore. Neither of you will," he whispered. Kairi looked at him in alarm, not knowing where he was going with it. "I wasn't worried about you, Riku," Kairi said, but Riku stopped her with a hard smile. "I'll never cry again. I promise."

"I didn't say you had to stop crying, Riku!" Kairi said, getting a little upset. "I just said that you get sad sometimes. I wish you weren't so sad."

"I won't be sad anymore. I'll be stronger," Riku said seriously, looking ahead of him with an intense glare.

"You don't have to cry to be sad," Kairi whispered. "Maybe Sora cries when no one is watching."

"He's cried with me before. He's just never cried in front of you. And I won't either. I was being unfair. To both of you," he said shakily, pursing his lips. He was getting very upset again, but he looked ahead steadily, forcing it back until he held the same stoic gaze as he usually did. He smiled at Kairi. "See?"

Kairi smiled, and gave Riku a tight hug, which he returned. "No more tears from me," Riku murmured, as if waiting for some sort of a go-ahead from Kairi. But she didn't know what he meant. "Okay," she said in confusion. Sora came back and asked what had happened, but Riku said it was nothing, and Kairi stared out onto the waves as they crashed over one another, tumbling back and forth, over and under, until they retreated back into the ocean from where they came.

Riku kept his promise. Ever since, Kairi had never seen him shed a single tear.

…

The last period of the day on Friday was a planning period. Kairi caught up on homework she had to do, and in the meantime, she took out her poem to work on. She had another meeting after school; this would be her last one until after midterm week was over. They weren't allowed have clubs the week before the tests. She'd have to study. She was planning on forming a study group with Elyon, and no doubt Kuroha would be joining them. If Elyon tutored her, maybe Kairi could tutor Tidus. She remembered the worry he had expressed to her before. She figured that she needed to help him if she could get the help herself.

The bell rung before she could make considerable changes to her poem and she exited the room, moving towards the classroom that would host the creative writing club. Dahlia was there as usual, pacing around, looking for things, and generally being as nervous as possible.

"We're going to have a short meeting today to discuss what will happen next week. The first draft of _all _of our poems could definitely use some work. Next week and the week after that will be centered on midterms, and then the week after _that _is the week before sports week. Next week through sports week, we will be perfecting our poems, and then on Monday of Culture week, we will turn them in to be judged.

"Judged?" A student asked in alarm, and Dahlia nodded. "Yeah. The best ones will be read on the night of the culture festival. We're going to have the classroom set up with a stage, will get in some of the auditorium lights and tables and chairs and stuff, and make it in the style of a creative open mike night."

The kids seemed to get excited about this, talking about what they wanted to do for the aesthetics of the classroom. But Dahlia calmed them down and leaned in towards them. "Is everything clear?" The classroom nodded, and Dahlia clapped her hands, dismissing them all. "No meetings next week and the week after that, which gives you two whole weeks to continue to perfect your poems! Bye everyone!"

Everyone said bye to one another and little by little everyone exited the classroom. The teacher was reading a book at the front desk, his eyes traveling lightly over the pages. When Kairi was about to leave, his eyes flickered up to her. "Have you got a bit of a poem down, yet?" he asked. Kairi shook her head, making him raise his eyebrows. He held out his hand meaningfully, and Kairi reluctantly handed him her poem. He skimmed through it quickly, and then gave it back to her.

"It's juvenile," he said simply, beginning to get his things together. "The language is that of a student's, not a poet's. You know, Kairi, a poem isn't an attempt at a rhyme scheme."

Kairi looked down at her little paper in embarrassment, wishing she had held fast against giving it to him.

"A poem is a picture drawn with words. As long as every word flows gently into the next, through lines and stanzas all the way to the end, as long as it evokes power and emotion, then it is a great poem," he said with a smile. Kairi looked up at him blankly, and he sighed in slight distress, pulling out the small pocket dictionary from his bag. He flipped to the section containing 'p' words, and held out a particular page, pointing to a word. "Read the third definition of this," he said simply.

Kairi took the book from him, and looked down at the word. Then, she cleared her voice and read, "Poem: writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm." When she was finished she looked back up at the teacher and handed him the book. He took it back in excitement, grinning widely at Kairi. "You see? It's the marriage of story telling and _music, _lyrics without music spoken as a story! It's wonderful!"

Kairi nodded at him. She had nothing to _say _to him. He obviously had an infatuation with poetry, and she wasn't going to disagree with that. The way he spoke to her was tiring, like he regarded her as someone who had all the tools but was too lazy to use them. She wasn't smart enough to understand everything that was going through his head. Or her own, for that matter.

"Think of a theme, to begin with," the teacher helped. "What is something that has been on your mind lately."

"Memories," Kairi said immediately. The teacher nodded to her, smiling gently. "That is an excellent theme."

He picked up his bag, and stood up and pushed his chair in. Then, he headed for the door. "I want you to keep a journal for the next three weeks. Write in it whenever something comes to mind. And then, when it's all over, I want you to write a poem out of what you've said to yourself."

Kairi nodded at this, telling the teacher 'thank you' on his way out. She stood in the classroom briefly, alone with her head bent low. Then, she began to cry silently, sitting at the desk closest to her and lowering her head between her arms, which she crossed in front of her.

Wakka would be in blitzball practice for a while. Kairi sat up after she was finished crying, wiping her eyes and rubbing her throbbing temple. She always got a headache after crying, which she hated. Then, she began to scribble something about Sora on the desk in front of her. She stared at it for a moment, willing it to stay there. Then she felt her eyes begin to close, and before she knew it, she was lulled to sleep by the sounds of the ocean, and of her, Riku, and Sora, laughing and playing in the sea.

She was jolted awake suddenly, and looked around in a fright. Her eyes immediately flew to the desk in front of her, and the writing she had scribbled before was gone. As she peered closer at the desk in alarm, she wondered if the writing had been a dream. Kairi's headache was gone and the sun had gone down a considerable amount, meaning she had been asleep longer than she'd expected.

She charged out of the school, looking around for Wakka. He was talking with Tidus. Kairi wondered how long they had been waiting for her. She sighed to herself in exasperation, thinking that she was being high maintenance again.

"The vocational program is really not that bad," Wakka said thoughtfully to Tidus, who was brooding. "It gives you more time to concentrate on blitzball," Wakka offered, and Tidus laughed, nodding. "Yeah. That's good…" then, he looked up at Wakka in curiosity. "What program do you think Sora would have been in?"

"Sora would have been vocational, no doubt," Wakka snorted. "But the difference between him and you is that he didn't really have anything going for him. I mean you've got blitzball. Man, you're the best in your school."

"I am?" Tidus said shyly, kicking at stones in front of his feet. "I'm really not _that_ great" he added, grinning sheepishly at Wakka, who laughed and elbowed him lightly in the stomach. "Stop fishing for compliments. But jokes aside, what would Sora have done? Become a fisherman?"

"Yeah, his dad taught him a lot," Tidus offered. Wakka shrugged. "Yeah, but he never wanted to be a fisherman. He was always sword fighting with Riku. I don't really know what Sora _could _have done."

"Are you saying it's better that he's gone?" Tidus said in shock, inciting a gaping expression and a swiftly shaken head from Wakka. "Of course not! That would be cruel…" Wakka murmured. "But what if he's off on the ocean? Off on that raft? He got the adventure in the end. Maybe somewhere out there, he's where he needs to be."

"And what if he's dead," Tidus said in a flat voice. Wakka looked over at him in surprise. "What are you saying, Tidus?"

"I'm just like him," Tidus continued, his voice and shoulders shaking. "I don't want to die," he sniffed, and began to cry. Wakka rolled his eyes to hide his alarm, and pulled Tidus into a hug. "Don't be a baby, you're not going to die you dummy."

Tidus cried for a few minutes, and then he stopped rubbing at his eyes. "I guess I've been taking this harder than I should have."

Wakka nodded, snorting. "I haven't been taking it hard _enough. _Just a while ago I couldn't even remember who he was. Can you believe that?"

"I had that, too," Tidus said suddenly. "I couldn't remember his name."

"Maybe forgetting is easier," Tidus replied absentmindedly. "I wonder where Kairi is," he added, worrying a tiny bit.

Kairi was running towards the dock. She charged over to her boat and hopped into it, rowing over to the island furiously. The minute her boat touched the shore, she tied it in and ran towards the secret place, gaining momentum as she passed by the waterfall. Then, she was in front of the door inside the secret place.

"Give him back," she snapped. There was silence.

Kairi picked up a few of the stones on the floor, and began throwing them at the door with all her might. "Come back, Sora!" she shouted in rage as the stones pelted against the wooden door. "Don't you see what you're doing to everyone?"

She threw the last few stones she had and stared at the door after she was finished, huffing and panting from all the running and general exertion she had spent in the last half hour getting to the island, and in the mere seconds she had spent throwing stones. She sat down in the middle of the floor, feeling more alone then ever before.

"It wasn't supposed to take this long," she said in exhaustion, and lay back on the floor. Suddenly, she heard her name being called. It was Tidus and Wakka. They must have seen her and followed her. "Leave me alone," she hissed to herself, and then got up and went out of the secret place so that they would not worry about her.

There was never enough time to be alone, and there was always too much time these days. People cared too little and they cared too much. The whole situation continued to flip flop over itself, tumbling over and around like waves.


	7. Week 6

Elyon, Kuroha, and two other girls from the Student Council all gathered by the front gate after school, waiting nervously for Kairi to come out of the building. When Kairi finally came out, she waved at them all, and they shouted excited "hellos" to her, running over to her and walking closely beside her.

"So, where's your house?" One of the Student Council girls said in excitement, and Kairi pointed to the top of one of the many hills on Destiny Islands. "It's up there. The big house," she added shyly. The girls giggled to each other, and walked ahead, looking at the house all the way. Elyon and Kuroha walked beside Kairi. "Thanks for inviting us to your house, Kairi!" Kuroha said happily. "I'll finally get to see where you live, now!"

"Yeah…" Kairi said slowly. She told Wakka she'd be going home with the girls for the rest of the week. Kairi had finally broken under the pressure Elyon had been giving her on cram school, and she signed up. They had an hour before it started up. "Dahlia's in one of the classes," Elyon offered.

"Can we stay at your house while you two are at cram?" Kuroha asked sweetly, but Elyon frowned at her. Kairi waved her hands in front of her, shrugging. "It's okay, they can stay. My mom would love you," she said to Kuroha. "She used to be a model."

Kuroha gaped, and let out a peel of laughter, clapping her hands joyfully. "I can't wait to see her!" Kuroha flipped her hair over her shoulder, and strode forward ahead of the group, over to the two StuCo girls. They let her join their little group immediately, and began whispering something that Kairi and Elyon could not hear. Elyon sighed. "Sorry about Kuroha," she said suddenly. "She just gets over excited sometimes."

"It's fine," Kairi said, a little bit excited, herself. "I've never had so many girls over before. Usually it was just Sora and Riku, and they liked playing outside," she chuckled. Elyon had that vague look on her face, and Kairi knew that by this time she and most of the people in their class had completely forgotten about Sora. It made Kairi sad, but Elyon tried her best to act like she knew whom Kairi was talking about.

They finally got to the house, and Kairi's mother immediately opened the door. "I heard that you were having a few friends over!" she gushed, flashing her brilliant white teeth at all of Kairi's classmates. The girls immediately giggled in admiration, blushing. Kairi didn't get it.

They all traipsed inside, looking around them in wonder as Kairi's mother led them through the house. There was a coat rack, which they all set their coats on carefully, and they took their shoes off and put them underneath their coats. The girls stared at Kairi's shoes as she took them off, gasping at her feet.

"Kairi, you've got blisters!" Kuroha said with a pout. "You need new shoes."

"I don't want new shoes, I like these ones," Kairi murmured. Kuroha shrugged. "At least wear socks with them. Then your feet won't rub so bad."

"Aren't slip-ons not allowed?" one of the girls asked, eyeing Kairi. "Maybe the teacher's cutting you some slack."

"Come into the living room, girls, I have some things for you," Kairi's mother trilled, going into the kitchen. Kairi was becoming embarrassed, and fiddled with one of the ruffled on the side of the curtains in the living room as the girls took off their backpacks and set them on the ground beside them. They all sat down, feeling the rug and chairs closely, as if examining a rare species of animal.

"Let's get started," Elyon said, breaking the silence, and the girls' attention was drawn to her as she pulled out her things. "Do we want to do one subject a day, or a little bit of each subject every day."

"A little bit each day, so we don't forget," a StuCo girl piped up and Elyon nodded. "Right, then let's start with language arts."

Elyon did most of the talking, and Kairi was pleased to realize that the poem reading in the creative writing club had really aided her analysis skills. She was pretty good at it, too. Her grammar and spelling were getting much better, too, and Kairi began to think that maybe she would do well on the language arts test. Then, they moved onto social studies.

In between review, Kairi's mother would come in with various sweet and savory food and drink choices, expensive candies and snacks that she had made or bought from the upscale bakery at the end of High Street. The girls stared at Kairi's mother as she handed out the food, and then as she left. "She's _such _a good hostess," the sighed simultaneously, putting their hands over their hearts. "I bet you adore her, Kairi," Kuroha said in deep affection. It was as if Kairi's mother had put a spell on all of them. Except Elyon, of course, who sat reviewing a tricky math problem that she had been working on earlier.

"I just see her as my mother," Kairi laughed lightheartedly. The StuCo girls looked sour. "I would adore a mother like that. People who have great things always take them for granted."

Kairi thought of her friends and shrugged. Elyon watched her during this time, and Kuroha looked off into space with a sad expression. They were collectively taken out of their dream worlds by the sound of the clock chiming the hour, and Elyon's mouth formed into an 'o'.

"We need to get going, Kairi," she murmured, patting Kairi on the shoulder. "Can we stay here?" the other girls near whined, and Kairi nodded, making them all cry out in delightful fit of giggles.

Kairi slid her backpack over her shoulders again, and slipped on her shoes as Elyon did the same. Then, they went out. Kairi could hear her mother talking with the girls as they left. They walked down the road for a little while, and then Elyon stuck out her tongue and wrinkled her nose, miming queasiness. Kairi laughed in surprise, and nudged Elyon on the shoulder.

"They can get grating sometimes, can't they?" Elyon chuckled. "Just typical girls."

"Are girls supposed to be like that?" Kairi asked. Elyon stopped and shrugged after some thought, putting her short hair behind her ear. "I don't know," she mumbled, chuckling a little bit. "Who knows what people are _supposed _to be like?"

"I guess people always set expectations for themselves," Kairi murmured as Elyon nodded swiftly. "It's all stupid," Elyon snapped suddenly. "It's pointless."

She kicked a stone hard down the sidewalk, watching it fly across the path and into the grass on the side of it. Kairi was suddenly aware of how well manicured all the grass was on this line of houses. Elyon sighed. "You live in a really nice place," she said quietly, a touch of envy in her voice.

"It's really not that great," Kairi replied quickly. "I mostly play outside. You don't need a nice house to play," she added with a laugh. Elyon shrugged. "Yeah, I can't complain. I have a decent place."

"I've never seen your parents," Kairi said suddenly, and Elyon chuckled, shrugging. "Yeah, maybe you can come over to my place sometime." She suddenly seemed uneasy, scratching the back of her neck. A question formed in Kairi's mind, but she didn't want to ask it incase she offended Elyon. She figured that she would do it anyway.

"How did you and Kuroha become friends?" Kairi asked lightly, masking her intent. But Elyon saw straight through it. "You mean why are two people like us friends?" she asked. "I guess we are very different." Her face clouded again, and she closed her eyes for a few moments, breathing in the air in thought. "I guess we both lost someone dear to us at the same time. We helped each other out. Our personalities butt heads a lot, but I can't stop being her friend now, not after everything we've been through."

Kairi raised her eyebrows at Elyon as she said this, curious as to who the girl lost. Elyon messed with the zipper on her coat as she walked forward, humming a tune she had played on the piano with Kairi. "I guess that my house is… a sad house. You probably wouldn't like it there. Kuroha doesn't."

"I don't mind," Kairi said quickly, thinking about Sora's mother immediately. She hadn't visited her in a while.

They came upon the tutoring house, and Kairi stepped inside shyly, following Elyon as closely as she could. They put on slip on shoes like in their regular school, but the classroom was situated differently. Elyon pointed out Dahlia, sitting in another classroom, looking intently up at the teacher.

Then, they entered their own classroom and commenced the lesson. Kairi surprisingly found it quite enjoyable. The teacher helped her out a lot, especially with math, which was her worst subject, and they played memorization games to help with studying for the tests. Kairi tried the memory games on Sora, running his written name over in her head, then his spoken name, his voice, is face, everything she could think of about him so that he would never leave her mind.

The session ended, and hordes of kids went out of the classrooms, jabbering about inconsequential things. Elyon and Kairi met up with Dahlia on their way out, and they all talked on their way home.

"What program do you guys want to get into in high school?" Dahlia asked, and Elyon shrugged. "I guess the math and science one, but I'd really like to be a piano player."

"They have a small arts college on the East side," Dahlia said. "It's hard to get into, though, and hard to stay in. They have tiny ensembles, and they expect kids to have a range of instrumental experience," Dahlia added. Elyon bared her teeth nervously at this. "I only know piano," she mumbled. Dahlia shrugged. "I mean, there are some kids who get in based on one talent, but the more you know the better chance you have."

"I'm good at piano," Elyon replied strongly, and Dahlia went quiet, shrugging. "I'm more of a liberal arts girl," she said with an upturned nose. "But if I got into the math and science program, I wouldn't complain."

"What about you, Kairi?" Elyon asked. Kairi shrugged. "The liberal arts program would be cool," she said, and Dahlia downright snorted. "What's the matter with that?" Elyon asked defensively, but Dahlia shrugged. "No, it's good to have goals. I see why you're going to cram now."

She walked ahead with spirit at this point, grinning widely. "Actually, to be honest, you could just become a model or something. Heck, have your dad buy you a job!" Dahlia nearly sang, laughing riotously at her own joke. Kairi looked down, trying not to be upset. Dahlia saw that she'd made Kairi sad, and she tried to regroup. "But, the teachers seem to have a lot of faith in you, maybe they can help you out, too," she tried, patting Kairi's shoulder.

"Dahlia, I think you should stop now," Elyon said flatly, and Dahlia shrugged, holding her hands up over her head in surrender. "Sorry. I was just joking around. You know me," she added, nudging Elyon. "I'll leave you guys here. See you in school," she added, and charged off down the road.

Elyon rolled her eyes, patting Kairi on the shoulder. "Hey, Dahlia is really smart mentally, but she has no common sense. She didn't mean what she said."

Kairi looked up at Elyon with raised eyebrows, making Elyon rethink her previous statement. "Okay, well, maybe she did mean what she said, but she's lovable once you really get to know her. Sometimes you just need to ignore her. Who's perfect at heart, anyway?" she added with a smile. Kairi chuckled at this, shrugging. "No one, I guess," Kairi murmured. "Right," Elyon replied as they came in front of Kairi's house.

When they got inside and put their things away, they could already hear Kairi's mother talking with the three girls in the kitchen. They were all doing some sort of craft together while they talked, and Kairi's mother was acting out an old commercial she had once done.

"Rich color for your skin," she finished with a wink, and flashed a sparkling smile at the three girls. They all laughed in delight, and Kairi's mother laughed too, fanning herself. "I have been having altogether too much fun with you girls!"

They all noticed Kairi and Elyon as they walked into the kitchen. "Come on, guys, we've still got to cover three more subjects."

"Aw, I don't want to do that anymore!" Kuroha whined. Kairi's mother encouraged them to stop. "You guys have studied so hard already. Take a break," she gushed, touching the StuCo girls' shoulders affectionately. They nearly melted. "But we only studied for an hour," Elyon complained quietly. There was more protest, until Elyon finally gave in and sat in the living room sourly, studying by herself as the other girls continued to talk to Kairi's mother.

Kairi wandered into the living room and began studying with Elyon, going over stuff from tutoring together. They covered the last few subjects while the other girls were talking to Kairi's mother about modeling and being the wife of the mayor.

After about two hours, everyone called it quits, and went home. It was already about 8 o'clock, so Kairi had been studying for about five hours. "Does creative writing club count as studying for English?" she said absentmindedly, and Elyon shrugged. "I guess, if you all are doing lots of analysis practice and stuff. It's probably helping a lot."

"I'm so tired," Kairi whined, rubbing at her eyes. "Do you think five hours of studying each day will help me do well on the test?"

"Wow, it's been that long?" Elyon asked in disbelief. Then, she looked at Kairi sheepishly. "I guess I forgot. Did I work you too hard?"

Kairi shook her head. "No, it was good that we took breaks every once in a while." She bit her lip, and looked back at Elyon, as the girl got ready to go home. "But do you think we could shorten the study sessions? Or maybe invite some other people?" Kairi asked.

"Like who?" Elyon returned.

"Tidus. Maybe Wakka would like to come, too. And Selphie."

"Are they in our grade?" Elyon asked. Kairi shook her head. "Wakka's a grade above us and Tidus and Selphie are a grade below us."

"I don't think Wakka would do very well with our help. But Tidus and Selphie could come."

"Do you think you could help me tutor Tidus?" Kairi asked. Elyon nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. We can give him our papers from tutoring, too," Elyon said. Kairi suddenly felt like Elyon could be a really great friend.

"I just can't wait to get back to piano," Elyon sighed happily, stretching. "Don't tell anyone I'm being taught by the music professor, okay? Technically he's not allowed to do that."

"I won't tell anyone," Kairi replied and Elyon smiled. "Thanks, Kairi."

Elyon waited at the door for Kuroha to come down, and they left together, saying bye to Kairi's mother as they left. When the door was shut, Kairi's mother sighed in satisfaction, rubbing Kairi on the shoulders with deep pride. "My baby girl's growing up!" she beamed.

"And who's this Tidus you've been talking about?" She asked. "Was he friends with Riku?"

"No. Sora was friends with Riku," Kairi mumbled.

"Is Sora a new boy?" her mother said in excitement. Kairi snorted. "He was a really good friend of mine. One of my best friends."

"Oh," Kairi's mother said absentmindedly. "You never told me."

"Sorry," Kairi mumbled. Then, she ascended the stairs to her bedroom. Her mother followed after her, taking her backpack up for her. "You really need new shoes. Your friends were talking about it."

"My shoes right now are just fine," Kairi said as calmly as she could. "I've told you that a bunch of times."

"Kairi, there's a difference between being emotionally attached to a pair of shoes and torturing yourself. Why are they so important?"

Kairi paused after her mother said this, wondering what she would say. "Because I promised my friends that I wouldn't change."

Kairi's mother frowned as Kairi said this, tearing up a little bit. She hid her face behind her beautiful hand, and Kairi turned around to see the woman subtly wipe away a tear. "I know you want things to stay the same, Kairi," her mother said softly. "But there's a point in life when childish things have to be left behind."

"What happens if I don't want to leave them behind?" Kairi asked softly. Her mother sighed. "Then you get left behind."

Kairi shrugged at this. There was silence in the room for a moment, before Kairi's mother stood up and looked around it, trying to pick out things that needed to be changed out. "You'll have to get a new school bag, too. You've had that same backpack since elementary school," she chuckled, shaking her head. "So that's new shoes, and a new backpack. Is that okay?"

Kairi shrugged again and nodded. Then her mother left her room.

…

Sora and Kairi sat on the beach together, aimlessly watching the ocean. The wind blew by them softly, and Sora sighed in satisfaction. "I love days like these!"

"Why?" Kairi asked, making Sora shrug. "I don't know," he responded. "It's just perfect. The sun is shining just right, the wind is blowing just right, and the sea is really calm… perfect day."

At that he smiled with satisfaction, awaiting a response from Kairi, who simply nodded.

There was a brief silence, broken when Sora decided to ask Kairi a question. "Kairi, do you ever get sad when you think about your old family?" he asked.

"I don't remember them," Kairi replied. "So I can't be sad."

Sora nodded at this. "Yeah, makes sense." There was another pause before he sat up, looking out onto the horizon. "Maybe it's kind of the same thing when you don't see someone die, right?" he asked. "You don't know if they're really gone or not."

Kairi stayed quiet as Sora continued to speak, absentmindedly-remembering things from his past. "I mean, the sky was just like this when my dad went out on the sea the last time. He said he'd get me a big fish. He didn't," he added quietly, shrugging. "So sometimes I wonder if he's just out there somewhere, still searching."

Sora laughed then. "He asked me what size I wanted the fish, and I held out my arms as wide as I could. I imagine him wrestling with some enormous fish. A big black one with glowing yellow eyes!" he elaborated, standing up and hunching over, impersonating the fish. "Wait, you're my dad, Kairi," he said suddenly in excitement, delegating where Kairi was supposed to stand. He drew the shape of a boat around her, and then ran a few paces away, hunching over again and baring his teeth. He snarled, and jumped up and down, moving side to side like a fish did. Kairi put her hand over her eyes to guard from the sun, and looked back and forth over the 'water'. Then, Sora was charging over to her before he jumped past her, over the boat.

Kairi picked up Sora's little wooden sword, and Sora picked up a stick on the ground. He kicked sand over a part of the drawn outline of the boat. "You're taking in water!" he shouted, and fought Kairi with the stick against wooden sword.

Kairi took out the sand in between fighting Sora, and patched up the outline. Sora howled in mock discontent, and jumped onto the boat, 'throwing' Kairi overboard. They got into an epic sword fight then, with Sora's cheeks becoming flushed. Finally, Kairi lost. Sora laughed for a moment, and then remembered that he was the fish.

"Oh, no," he mumbled. "You were supposed to win." He pondered for a moment, and then put his hands on the side of Kairi's upper arms, smiling bravely at her. "You've got to practice with me! Just in case."

"In case what?" Kairi asked. Sora shrugged. "In case that fish comes back. We can fight it together!" he said with a grin. "You, me, and Riku."

"I can't fight very well," Kairi sighed, but Sora shook his head. "I'll teach you. I'll protect you, too."

"Thanks, Sora," Kairi said softly. Sora gave her a big hug, and folded his arms in front of him.

"Do you miss your dad?" Kairi asked, and Sora shrugged. "I've been forgetting him more and more over the years. I was young when he went. Actually, it was a little while after you came."

"Oh, yeah," Kairi said with a nod. "I remember, now."

"I was kind of angry all the time back then," Sora laughed sheepishly. "But you made me smile, more, Kairi. You wouldn't let me be angry for long. You helped me a lot," he added earnestly. "So we've got to stick together, now. All of us."

There was more silence. Sora seemed to be formulating a question in his mind that was hard to ask. "So, um… if your real parents ever come back, would you leave?"

Kairi gaped at Sora, and laughed, ruffling the hair on his head with a smile. "Of course not, Sora! Destiny Islands is my home, now!" she said, poking his nose. "Silly!"

Sora nodded, grinning widely in relief. "That's good."

Then, he picked up his wooden sword, and threw it back to Kairi. "Let's practice!" he said, smiling mischievously. Kairi nodded, and picked up the sword. Then, they charged at each other, and fought some more, Sora giving Kairi pointers every once in a while.

…..

As science ended, the teacher scribbled out something on a piece of paper for Kairi. "If you want to come in during lunch, I can give you some extra lessons," she said in determination. "And I can help you with your math, too."

"You can do math?" Kairi asked, immediately regretting the stupid question. The teacher laughed out loud and nodded. "I'm a physicist, Kairi. I teach part time."

"Oh," Kairi said in awe. The teacher sighed, handing out the lunch pass to Kairi. "I don't know if you're necessarily set for the physics line of work, but maybe more biology would be your thing. I did some of that, too."

"The language arts teacher is trying to get me ready for the liberal arts program in high school," Kairi said, and the teacher nodded. "I know, but science is important for that. Liberal arts are really a collective study of the extension of the human body and soul!" she said. "Think about it, history, performing and visual arts, writing, it's all about humans!" she said. "You need to understand the tools humans use to affect the world around them, how they understand that world!" she added. "Natural resources are tools, the human body is the greatest tool. How do those things work?"

"I guess so," Kairi sighed. The teacher laughed suddenly. "Sorry, I really get into this kind of thing," the teacher chuckled. Kairi pursed her lips. "How does memory work?"

The teacher chuckled. "It's a long process. Let's talk in the hall," She added, exiting the classroom so that the language teacher could come in. he eyed her and Kairi as he did, and sat down at the desk in the classroom.

"How about long term memory?" Kairi said. The teacher sighed, trying to think how to explain it in the shortest way possible. "Well," she began. "That's more biology than physics, but I'll give you the long and short of it."

She gesticulated with her hands as she spoke, keeping eye contact with Kairi the whole time. "Well, a certain important event is taken out of short term memory and sent to the hippocampus. Then, it travels along the limbic system, picking up emotional and sensual data from the memory before returning to the hippocampus. Each time it makes this circuit, the memory becomes stronger. And eventually it sticks."

"How does it unstick?" Kairi asked. The teacher pursed her lips. "That is more difficult. I think it's mostly associated with cell death and degeneration. For example, viruses, drugs and injuries can cause it. The disruption of chemicals in the brain is also a part of it. It's complicated."

"So if there are less cells, there's less space to store the memories?" Kairi tried, and the woman nodded. "But what if the cells aren't dying?" Kairi asked. "What if the memories are just flickering off?"

"That's some powerful magic," the woman winked, "that I have never heard of."

"No one can remember my friend anymore," Kairi said suddenly. "His name is Sora. Will I forget him, too?"

The teacher frowned, looking at Kairi in disbelief. "Well… if you just keep thinking about him, he should stay in your mind. Mind you, the less you see of him, the fuzzier he may become. Just keep running it over in your mind. Picture it," she added. "And in the meantime, you can come to me during lunch. I want to see you get an A by the end of the year."

The science teacher walked down the hall, and suddenly turned back, waggling her finger at Kairi. "I hope you're prepared for the test tomorrow."

Kairi nodded, and the teacher smiled back at her. "Good," she finished, and turned away, continuing on down the hall. When Kairi entered the classroom and gave the language teacher the pass, he sighed in irritation, signaling for her to go to her seat.

Kairi fervently took notes for the rest of class, feeling that perhaps she really did have a chance on the tests next week.

In music, Elyon and Kairi were yet again down at the piano in the storage room. "When's your birthday, Kairi?" Elyon asked, and Kairi shrugged. "December," she said. Elyon smiled. "Is it during break?"

"Yeah," Kairi said. Elyon pouted playfully. "I wish my birthday was in December. Mine is in April. Yuck," she chuckled, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter, though."

The rest of the school day passed without event. Kairi went to the science teacher for help during lunch, and after school ended, Elyon, Kuroha, and the StuCo girls waited for Kairi to come out so that they could all go to her house, which was designated the permanent study pad for the midterms. Kairi didn't really want people at her house all the time. She wondered if this study group thing would last beyond midterms. She hoped not.

Elyon and Kairi went back to the tutoring house after an hour of studying, and Kairi could see the girls pulling out nail polish as she left the house. Her mother wasn't there that day, and she'd let the girls stay at the house on their own. She hoped they wouldn't mess anything up.

Dahlia accompanied them on the way home again, strutting ahead of them with purpose and talking about how well she'd do on the tests. "I got an _very _high B on my language arts test last term," she bragged. Kairi tried not to roll her eyes, and Elyon just smiled as Dahlia went on. "Well, this is where I leave you two lovely ladies," she said absentmindedly. "How is your poem coming along, Kairi?" she added. Kairi shrugged. "It's coming along."

"Right. Looking forward to judging it." Then, Dahlia was off up the road.

Elyon and Kairi headed back to Kairi's house, then. Just as they got in the door, the StuCo girls filed out, keeping their heads down as they went. "See you, Kairi, we're going early today," they muttered, and charged off down the road. Kairi immediately assumed the worst.

She slipped her shoes and coat off quickly and ran into the living room, where Kuroha was sitting on the carpet with the face of a hit puppy. "I'm really sorry, Kairi," she mumbled. Kairi looked down at the rug in the living room, and gasped. A bottle of electric blue nail polish had upended on the white rug, and Kuroha had unsuccessfully cleaned it up. There was a big blue smear on it. Kairi's hand flew over her mouth, which she shut tight.

"I'm really sorry, Kairi! I tried to tell them not to mess around, but they started tickling one another and the bottle fell off the table. I tried to clean it up," Kuroha added. "Am I not allowed to come to your house anymore?" she added shyly.

Elyon looked at her sourly. "Don't say something like that, Kuroha."

"It's okay," Kairi sighed, looking at the ruined rug. "I just won't be able to let you guys stay alone at the house anymore."

"That's fine," Kuroha responded eagerly. "I can wait outside cram school for you guys."

"You'd want to wait outside for two hours just to wait for us to come out and walk home with you?" Elyon asked, and Kuroha nodded. She seemed scared and hurt.

"Who were those girls?" Kairi asked. Kuroha shrugged. "They're my friends."

"Not very good ones, I suppose," Elyon muttered, but Kuroha folded her arms in front of her, with widened eyes. "How?"

"They left you to take the blame," Elyon said quietly. Kuroha bent her head over at this, becoming sad. Then, she narrowed her eyes. "Then who else are we going to study with, if you deem those girls such 'bad' friends?" she hissed.

"Why doesn't Dahlia come over?" Kairi tried. Elyon snorted. "She talks a lot. Not a lot of people like her."

"I don't like her," Kuroha muttered, but Elyon ignored her. "What about your two friends? Tidus and Selphie."

Kairi nodded. "They're great. They can come over!"

"Then we've got two more people," Elyon said brightly. Kuroha wouldn't have it though. "But they're babies," she complained. "And Dahlia is annoying. Why can't we invite Brie and Enya?"

"They'd party the whole time. They wouldn't study at all," Elyon replied sternly. Kuroha pouted. "Why do we even have to study, I came to see Kairi's house," she snapped.

Elyon closed her eyes in irritation, breathing out deeply. "Do you want a good grade on the test, Kuroha?"

"I don't care!" Kuroha said simply. "Kairi's mother was saying that I have a future in modeling. She told me I was beautiful," she added, sighing happily. "I can definitely do that."

"Okay, well, in the mean time you can study, okay?" Elyon said sternly. Kuroha pouted a little bit, and then shrugged. "Alright, fine. I will."

She leaned on the wall, finally feeling self conscious of her behavior. "I'm sorry for what I said, Kairi," she mumbled. "I guess I'm more nervous for the tests then I thought I'd be," she added with a delicate laugh.

"We're all going to get great grades this year, right?" Elyon said, and Kuroha sighed. "I guess so."

They tried to help Kairi clean up the rug, and when her mother came home from shopping, Kuroha went and told her that she'd spilled nail polish on the rug. Kairi's mother was visibly irritated, but she tried to be flippant, waving Kuroha off and saying they could either get a cleaner or a new one.

They studied a bit more, and then Elyon and Kuroha left together. After they'd left, Kairi went in and sat at the island counter in the kitchen, putting her fists under her chin and sighing. "You know, it wasn't Kuroha who got the polish on the rug. It was the two other girls."

Kairi's mother scowled, shaking her head. "I knew it wasn't Kuroha. She has the face of an angel," she added with a sigh. Then, she looked over at Kairi, going over and putting the girl's face in her hand, turning it back and forth. "Are you going to grow your hair out, Kairi?" she asked. Kairi shook her head.

"You've got lovely blue eyes, Kairi. And you know, not many people have the color hair that you do," her mother added. "You've just got to look after your face a little bit better. Use some of my crème."

Kairi was taken aback by the sudden care her mother was putting into her face, and pulled away, uncomfortable. Her mother followed Kairi with her eyes. "Maybe you'll lose that baby fat soon," she added, laughing a little bit. Kairi nodded as she went up the stairs, going into her room and looking at herself in the mirror. She pulled her school shirt up, and looking at her belly. Then, she turned to the side, and sucked in.

"What am I doing?" she suddenly snapped at herself in alarm. She turned the mirror the other way, and sat at the windowsill, scribbling in the journal that her language arts teacher had told her about. She never used Sora's name, just in case the unknown force that was taking everyone's memories over would blank it out. Then, she thought how stupid that idea was in the first place. The 'unknown force' thing.

Looking down at the journal, the stuff that she had gone through with Sora was all very far fetched. She pursed her lips as she thought about it, wondering how vivid dreams could get. She continued to scribble things down, thinking that maybe the journal could double as a dream diary.

….

Tidus waited shyly outside the school for Kairi and her friends, extremely nervous. He wondered if Wakka would make fun of him for studying with a group of girls. Kairi was attending extra tutoring now, and said that she'd help him study for his tests. Selphie had formed her own study group, and Tidus' friends weren't very smart, so he thought that perhaps studying with Kairi would be good for him.

Tidus looked over at Kairi and her friends as they came towards her, smiling and waving at her in excitement. "Hi, Kairi!" he called, and Kairi smiled, running towards him. "This is Kuroha and Elyon," she said, introducing them to Tidus. He waved shyly at the girls, looking at his feet. Kuroha looked him up and down; taking in his blond hair, tan skin and blue eyes very slowly.

They all walked home, Kuroha striding ahead as usual. She jabbered on about things, peeking back at Tidus most of the time to see what he was looking at. In his innocence, Tidus looked around aimlessly, taking in the sky and the breeze as he walked towards Kairi's house. "I don't think I've ever been in your house before, Kairi," he said. "I've only been in…" he frowned then, scratching his head while he tried to remember. Kairi didn't finish the sentence for him, but he seemed to be having so much trouble that she dejectedly gave him a hint. "S…" she started, and Tidus' face brightened up. "Sato!" he said, and Kairi laughed without thinking. "Sato?" she said, shaking her head in sad amusement. Tidus thought about it some more, pursing his lips. Then, the light came on, and he remembered. "Sora! I've only been to Sora's house. I remember his mom had those really good ice cream bars."

"Aw, you're so cute," Kuroha giggled, fluttering her eyelashes invitingly to Tidus, who blushed madly looking down at the ground. Elyon glared at Kuroha, but the girl didn't notice, she was too busy trying to attract Tidus' attention.

They reached Kairi's house, and Tidus stepped inside carefully, taking off his shoes and walking around the living room in awe. The rug was off at the cleaners, so it was just hardwood floor in the living room. He sat on the floor instead of on a couch, as if afraid of touching anything. "You can sit on the couch," Kairi said, but Tidus shook his head shyly. "It's fine."

Kuroha hopped onto the couch, sitting cross-legged, and Elyon and Kairi joined her to try and get Tidus to be more comfortable. He finally gave in, and went over and sat beside Kairi. Then, they began to study together until Elyon and Kairi had to go to tutoring.

"You two can stay home if you want," Kairi said, but Tidus objected, saying his mother needed him at home. "You've only studied for an hour," Elyon interjected, "you're not going to pass the test if you study for one hour each day."

Tidus gave in, and nodded to himself. "Maybe you can help me a little bit," Kuroha added brightly, smiling brilliantly at him. He shrugged. "I guess I could stay," he gulped, and Kairi and Elyon went for the door.

"Don't scare him away, he's just a kid," Elyon warned Kuroha, who snorted in good humor. "Don't worry, I'll just play around with him a little bit."

"Kuroha, I'm serious," Elyon snapped. Kuroha stared at her, before nodding in agreement. "See you guys later," she said softly. "I'll look after the house, I promise."

Kairi looked back at the house as they walked down the road, wondering what the previous exchange between Elyon and Kuroha had been. "What's up with Kuroha?" Kairi asked in curiosity, making Elyon laugh. "Kuroha just has a really bad habit."

"What?" Kairi asked.

"She likes to mess with people," she mumbled. "Especially guys. She has a hold over them, you know."

"What about her dad?" Kairi asked. "Well, I guess everyone except him," Elyon sighed. "He's not there that much, though," she added, frowning. "You're a good enough friend now that I know you won't go around telling anyone about that, right?" Elyon continued, and Kairi nodded vigorously, smiling to show that she meant it. "I wouldn't tell anyone."

"Thanks," Elyon breathed. "The circle of trust widens," she murmured quietly as they neared the building they were looking for.

…

When they knocked on the front door of Kairi's house, Kuroha answered it in a fluster. "Where's Tidus?" Kairi asked curiously, and Kuroha huffed loudly. "He's in the bathroom. He won't come out. He says he's sick."

Dahlia stood behind them, looking inside the house in delighted curiosity, not caring one bit as to what Kuroha was talking about.

"What did you do to him?" Elyon asked angrily. Kuroha narrowed her eyes at Elyon and gritted her teeth, folding her arms defensively in front of her. "I didn't do anything! I just tried to talk to him! I was looking over his paper and then all of a sudden he upped and left!"

"Kairi, do you have any snacks?" Dahlia asked, and Kairi pointed to the fridge. "On it," Dahlia said with glee, rubbing her fingers together, and she was gone.

Kairi climbed up the stairs towards the bathroom to check on Tidus and knocked on the door. "Tidus, are you alright?" she asked. There was no answer at first, and then the door unlocked, and Kairi went inside. Tidus was sitting on the closed lid of the toilet, pouting. He looked miserable. "Did you get sick?" Kairi asked. Tidus looked up at her with big puppy eyes and sighed, shaking his head. "What happened, Tidus?" Kairi asked.

Tidus blushed madly and pulled his legs up to his chin. Kairi still didn't get it. They sat in silence for a moment, Tidus not wanting to tell Kairi what happened, and Kairi not knowing what on earth was going on. She put a hand on his knee, and looked him straight in the eye. "Tidus, if there's something wrong with you, I need to know," she murmured. "But if there's nothing wrong, you can tell me."

"It's just embarrassing. You don't want to know," Tidus mumbled, and slid off of the toilet. "It's fine now, I was just so embarrassed that I couldn't go down and face her."

This alarmed and confused Kairi even more, but she shrugged it off, not bothering to think about what Tidus was saying. It was obvious that he was just fine. "Do you want to study with us?" She asked. Tidus looked at her pleadingly, and she sighed. "Will you be able to come over tomorrow?"

Tidus sighed back and closed his eyes. He seemed to have recovered by then. "No, I want a good grade on the test." There was another pause in which Tidus blushed again. "Um… did she know what happened?" he asked, making Kairi snort. "No, she was really worried. I don't even know what happened."

"Well, okay," Tidus said brightly. "I'll go down then."

They studied for two more hours and everyone ate dinner at Kairi's. Tidus became more animated as the evening went on, and Elyon and Kuroha found him very entertaining. Dahlia thought he was an absolute hoot, laughing at every few words that came out of his mouth. Dahlia really wasn't that bad, she was terrible for bragging about herself, but she was very funny when she wanted to be.

"Anyway, this guy was just looking me up and down," she said, recalling a memory from a little while back. "Because you know, I'm fifteen now. You betcha, buddy boy," she said, winking at Tidus specifically, who furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"And then I looked straight at him and said 'what do you want?' and the guy says 'I don't know'. Can you believe that?" she nearly shouted, leaning in towards everyone. "And that's when I knew he was flirting with me. He was most likely intimidated by my superior intelligence. It didn't go far."

"What happened?" Kuroha asked with a smile and Dahlia snorted. "I see him once in a while at the cleaners, but he ducks out whenever I walk in. I couldn't put my finger on it until I got that A on the essay we did a while back," she bragged, and Kairi clapped. "Congratulations!"

Dahlia shrugged at this, trying to act nonchalant but noticeably beaming. The evening finished on a high note, and everyone left, continuing to talk happily. Dahlia made Tidus walk her home, and Elyon and Kuroha walked home together as usual.

….

Sora's boat was broken, so Kairi was letting him use her boat. They rowed with two sets of oars, and Riku tried to race them, losing by a measurable amount. He scowled when he got to the island, going off to sulk. Sora sighed and lied back in the boat, closing his eyes and folding his arms behind his head. Kairi smiled, and lied down with him, looking up at the sky. As she did, her thigh brushed against his, and his eyes flew open. Then, he sprung up, curling up into a ball. He stared forward for a moment, and then looked at Kairi like he'd just been caught stealing something.

"What's wrong?" Kairi said in alarm, and Sora shrugged. "Nothing," he mumbled. Then, he stood up and checked himself, before sighing and shrugging. "Let's find Riku," he added weakly, and they tied the boat in properly and went towards him.

As they went over, Sora charged over to Riku and whispered something in his ear. He roared with laughter, bending over as he did. "It's not funny, Riku!" Sora snapped, blushing madly and trying not to look over at Kairi, who was walking towards them steadily. "What's the matter, guys?" Kairi barked, angry at being left out. Riku waved his hand, still smiling like crazy. "You don't want to know, Kairi."

Kairi rolled her eyes and shrugged. Fine, let's play."

Sora nodded at this, brightening up immediately. "Race you!" he shouted at Riku, and the two were off with Kairi close behind, ducking under and around the docks and huts on their way around their little island, their territory.

…..

The studying sessions were getting really good. Kairi had the firm belief that by the time Sora came back, he would have a whole new set of friends. She was planning on slowly reintroducing them to him. She decided that she just had to make the best of the whole town's lack of memory, and start with a few people at a time. Then they would talk about him to the other villagers, and by the time Sora got back, perhaps everyone would remember him.

Kuroha had become increasingly taken with Tidus, sitting closer to him during the study sessions and watching him more as he worked.

They sat together during planning period, and Kuroha started talking about Tidus. She smiled as she spoke about him, wiping her unruly black curls away from her face as she spoke, her eyes sparkling. "He's so cute!" she giggled. "The face he makes when he concentrates is funny, like he's trying _really _hard. He was really cute when he was upset, too. He has such a puppy face."

"Don't you think about it anymore, Kuroha," Elyon warned, and Kuroha slumped over Elyon's desk, whining. "Why shouldn't I? He's so cute! I bet he's never had his heart broken," she smiled devilishly at this, narrowing her eyes and thinking things over in her mind.

Elyon rolled her eyes and scowled. "At least midterms are over next week. Then I can concentrate on my piano recital for the Culture Festival," she said in excitement. Then, she clapped her hands. "The music teacher said that he's bringing a friend of his who works at the arts school. She's supposed to be one of the head teachers for the music program there," she added with a shaky voice. "After midterms, I can't hang out with you guys. I'll be practicing nonstop," she said with a nervous yet beaming smile.

"Obviously the teacher sees a lot of talent in you if he's bringing over that woman," Kairi said supportively. Elyon nodded vigorously at her, giggling a little bit, uncharacteristic of her.

The bell rang, and the girls all exited the school for the study group that they had been hosting. "How many days next week are we doing?" Elyon asked, and Kairi shrugged. "We can do the whole week if you want." Kuroha whined in opposition to this, saying that they'd already studied enough. But Elyon would not have it. "We're all going to be really burnt out after the midterms, but we are going to pass!" she laughed. "It's nice though, I like all of us."

"I like us, too," Kuroha admitted.

"Even Dahlia?"

"… Yeah, but not as much as everyone else," Kuroha added with narrowed eyes. This made Elyon laugh, and they met up with Tidus outside, before going off to study.

As the night dragged on, the thought to visit Sora's mother drifted in and out of Kairi's mind. Her subconscious kept reminding her of it, but she shrugged it off continuously. She wanted to get good grades on her tests. She'd do it after next week. Maybe on Friday. She was off school then.


	8. Week 7

Kuroha screamed in delight as they got out of the school building on Thursday, dancing around in circles in the school courtyard. "Three down, two to go!" she said with glee, sighing.

Kairi grinned at her and Elyon. Dahlia just sighed in relief, nodding to herself as if to say, 'alright, time to carry on'.

"Where's Tidus?" Kuroha asked in curiosity, and Kairi shrugged. "I don't know."

Just as she said it, there he was, running towards her with a grin on his face. "I think I passed!" he said hopefully, if not a little bit uncertainly. "But at least it's over! I'll be able to get back to blitzball!"

"You play blitzball?" Kuroha asked, her cheeks gloriously pink from her earlier excitement. Her eyes shone, and poor Tidus couldn't take it. He grinned sheepishly, and nodded, with his head down low. "Yeah, I play blitzball," he said shyly. Kuroha cried out in delight at this, clapping her hands together in wonder. "That's great! Blitzball is awesome!"

"Well, you could watch me when we play," he said. "When do you play?" Kuroha asked.

"Saturday morning."

"Are they going to set up underwater cameras or something?" Kuroha asked, and Tidus shrugged. "I don't know if we're that hi-tech."

This made Kuroha laugh, and Tidus grinned wider, blushing a deeper shade of red. Elyon and Dahlia looked at each other knowingly, and Kairi thought of how sweet Tidus and Kuroha looked together.

"Let's all go celebrate!" Kuroha suggested. "There's an ice cream place near us that's really good."

Dahlia said something about watching her figure and the fact that she had to go to tutoring.

"Come on, Dahlia, you've got an hour, right?" Kairi said, and Dahlia rolled her eyes, huffing a little bit. "Fine, I can spare thirty minutes if we get there fast."

"We can run," Elyon joked. "Get some exercise for your figure."

"Hey, now I didn't say we had to go that far," Dahlia warned. They all walked quickly around the other side of the island to the apartments where Kuroha lived, jabbering the whole way to pass the time. Tidus and Kuroha walked ahead, talking about a host of different things. Tidus began to mess around with her, making her laugh. It was obvious that he had become more comfortable with her over the week, and now he was acting like his regular self. Kuroha took it all in good form, playing along with him, all the while slyly taking his figure and features in as he walked.

"It's just down this street," Kuroha said absentmindedly, leading them down to the street that the ice cream parlor was on. It was a dilapidated little place, badly in need of a repair. The inside was designed with an island theme; palm trees had been crudely painted on the walls, along with the beaches and the city and volcano in the background. Dolphins broke the waves in the painting, and paopu fruit hung from the trees. There was a counter at the front of the parlor with high leather stools like in a bar. In fact, Kairi wondered if the place had once been a bar.

"What kind of ice cream do you guys want?" Kuroha asked happily. "And who's got money?"

They all put their money together, and Kuroha bit her lip, thinking about what she could get them for it. They didn't have much. The ice creams were already dead cheap, but Kuroha wanted to treat them.

"I don't need one, Kuroha," Elyon said, but Kuroha stopped her, looking straight at Tidus as she did. Then, she strutted over to the young man at the counter and leaned in towards him, letting her black locks tumble down in front of her, framing her face. She fluttered her eyelashes at the boy, and her green eyes shone forth from underneath them, meeting eyes with that of the boy's. He blushed at her, and leaned in closer, asking her what she'd like.

She rattled off what everyone wanted, and the boy got them all for her. As he handed her the ice creams, she touched his hands lightly, giggling a little bit as she did. He went a deeper shade of red, and watched Kuroha intently as she handed out the ice creams.

"How much?" she asked. "Five dollars," the boy said. Kuroha counted up the money, and found that she only had three dollars and ten cents. She looked up at the boy with wide, innocent eyes, pouting heavily. "I only have three dollars and ten cents. I didn't know it was this expensive. Has the price gone up?"

"No," the boy said flatly. Kuroha went a different direction then, smiling mischievously. "Okay. How about I pay you back later?"

"It's okay," the boy said in slight irritation. "Maybe you can come by some other time."

"Yeah, maybe we can talk," she said lightly, touching the boy's hand. He seemed to warm up, and Kuroha exited the store with everyone, waving to the boy as she went. Tidus seemed a little irritated, looking back at the boy every few seconds. "Do you know him well?" Tidus asked politely, and Kuroha shrugged. "Yeah, I see him a fair bit. He gives me free ice cream a lot."

"Don't you think it's wrong to take advantage of him?" Tidus asked bravely. Elyon tried not to grin at this, turning away with her hand over her mouth. Kuroha gazed coldly on Tidus, and smiled coolly. "No."

"Why?" Tidus asked passionately. "He's being generous to you and you're giving him nothing in return."

"I don't need to give him anything in return," Kuroha said slowly, in a murmur. "Why are you so uptight? Do you like him?" she added with another mischievous grin, looking him up and down. Tidus blushed again, and shook his head. "No. I just think that it's wrong to lead people on."

This took Kuroha aback, and Tidus folded his arms in front of him, preparing for some kind of verbal onslaught. Kuroha simply stared at him closely, and cocked her head to the side, grinning a little bit. "You're a cute kid," she said, and ruffled his hair, turning her attention to the rest of the group. "Let's eat by the beach!"

The water on Kuroha and Elyon's side of the island was just as clear as the other side, and there were fewer buildings on the coast. Kairi watched Elyon as she ate. The girl looked thoughtfully out on the ocean. Kairi wondered if she was thinking about what Tidus had said earlier.

"Hey, Kairi," Elyon said absentmindedly, attracting Kairi's attention. "Yeah?" Kairi asked, her mind drifting as Elyon began speaking.

"Have you written anything about Sora yet?"

"Who?" Kairi asked, and Elyon blinked down at her, laughing. "Sora, your dream boy."

Kairi gasped, as images of Sora smashed behind her eyes, like a strange frenetic movie playing itself in her head. She felt her whole world shake momentarily, and she sat up in disbelief. "Sora, yes, of course," she mumbled. "I was just tired. That's why I forgot," she muttered. "These past two weeks I've hardly even gotten to talk to the police, or his mother… I've been so caught up in the midterms, that I just couldn't…" the excuses fell flatter each time she tried a new one, until her throat was dry and a lump was coming up from the bottom of it, threatening to escape her eyes as tears. Elyon saw the effect it had on Kairi, and rubbed her back gently. "It's okay. It was just one episode of forgetfulness."

"It won't happen again," Kairi added, blinking back tears. "It won't."

Elyon stared at her, and nodded unsurely. "I know," she said, but it sounded hollow.

…..

Friday morning, Kairi got up early and went straight to Sora's mother's house. The students had been given Friday off as a break from midterms, and Kairi was determined to go to both the police station and Sora's mother. Her own mother would be taking her to a modeling agency tomorrow, which she had no desire to do at all. Apparently her mother had suggested that Kuroha come with her. Kairi didn't know if she wanted that.

Sora's house was eerily quiet, looking tired, bent over by the wind that brushed by it. Kairi knocked on the front door absentmindedly, and there was a pause, before Sora's mother answered it. Kairi was immediately shocked upon seeing the woman. She looked like a new person. Her hair was combed back nicely, she was wearing makeup, and she smiled down at Kairi gently. "Hi," she said. "How are you doing, Kairi?"

"Good," Kairi said. "Can I come in?" she added, and Sora's mother moved aside so that the girl could enter the house.

"Would you like some tea?" the woman asked as she headed into the kitchen. The house was so quiet it was almost creepy, and Kairi sat uncomfortably in the living room. She looked down the hallway where Sora's room was, and was alarmed when she didn't see the door.

"Hey, where is Sora's room?" Kairi asked.

"Who?" Sora's mother called from in the kitchen, and Kairi's heart nearly stopped. She looked at the woman who had come in from the kitchen with two cups of tea in horror. "What is it, Kairi?" Sora's mother asked innocently.

Kairi tried to smile at her, wondering what had happened in the two weeks she had not visited her. "How have you been?" Kairi asked. Sora's mother chuckled, shrugging.

"Well. I went through a very hard period just a little while back. And then I lost my job, and things got worse. I began to have panic attacks. So, I decided that I needed to pull myself together and sort things out, and I did," she said innocently, even proud of herself. "I was going crazy, Kairi," she added guiltily. "So I decided to go the easiest route I could, which was forgetting. Now, I don't remember what I forgot, but my heart does. And it hates me for it. Now, don't you hate me," she added snippily. Kairi stared at her, feeling her arms beginning to shake as she stared at the woman in front of her in an upward spiraling rage.

"Of all the people in this world," Kairi said slowly. "I'd have thought that you would have been different."

"What do you mean, Kairi?" the woman said coldly, putting the cups of tea down on a side table. "If you're going to confuse me you need to leave. I don't like you being rude."

"Sora," Kairi said. "Sora with spikey brown hair and eyebrows like yours, with your former strength and his dad's kindness. Don't you remember telling me all of that? Of how Sora felt when his dad died?"

The woman stared coolly at Kairi, and then shook her head. "I don't know what you are talking about," she hissed, but her shoulders seemed to collapse in on her. She was breaking under the pressure Kairi was putting on her.

Kairi stood in opposition to the woman for a moment, waiting for her to do something. But Sora's mother simply picked up the teacups, and held one out to Kairi as a kind of a gift. "Here," she said invitingly, and a little pleadingly. Kairi looked down at the cup in front of her, and then turned around, tearing over to where Sora's door was.

She felt the area where Sora's bedroom door should have been frantically, running her fingers up and down the wall, scratching at it to see what the problem was. She could feel the outline of the door beneath the surface of the wall. It had been re-papered, and Kairi tore the paper off where she could feel the sides of the door. She tried to find the doorknob, but of course it had been cemented shut. The only thing she could do was bang her weight against the door, screaming for it to open. She had been going at it for a few moments before Sora's mother's arms surrounded her, pulling her in and tearing her away from the wall.

"What are you doing?" his mother shouted sternly at her. "You just tore apart my new wallpaper!"

"That used to be your son's room!" Kairi spat.

Sora's mother looked away from Kairi, clutching her chest in near physical pain. "I don't have a son," she croaked, shaking her head over and over again.

Kairi lunged towards her, stepping right in front of her. "You do have a son. His name is Sora," she hissed. Sora's mother shook her head fiercely. "Don't say that name. I don't know that name. I have a husband who went out to sea and never came back."

"You have a son who did that, too!" Kairi hissed. Sora's mother was crying now, but Kairi did not care. "I don't have a son!" Sora's mother sobbed, shaking her head faster as she spoke. "We couldn't have children. I never had a little boy!" she sobbed, curling in on herself.

"How could you forget him? He was your own son!" Kairi screeched at the woman, letting all her anger out on her. The woman looked up at her, her face stained with makeup and tears. "If you don't get out I will call the police," the woman hissed. "Get out of my house!" she screamed, but Kairi charged back to Sora's room, banging on the door again. When she could not get it open, she charged out the front door and around to Sora's bedroom window. It had been boarded up, but she broke the glass with a stone and tried to stick her hand through it. Blood poured down from her fingers as she tried to bash though the wood boarding, punching it with her fist.

She didn't know how long she stood there, banging on it, but eventually, a policeman tore her from the window, and pulled her towards an ambulance, in which she would no doubt be taken to the small hospital on the other side of the island.

She screamed as the police herded her into the ambulance and medical personnel strapped her down to the ambulance bed, not caring that the neighbors had charged out to their front porches or to their kitchen windows to see what was going on. Kairi was given a drug that made her calm down when the vehicle began to move, and she fell asleep, sobbing.

…..

Kairi winced as she opened her eyes, looking groggily around her. Her mother was pacing not far from her bed, covering her pretty face like she was tired. Kairi wondered how long she had been there. When Kairi's mother noticed that Kairi was awake, she ran over to the bed and sat beside Kairi, kissing her cheeks and giving her a gentle hug.

"Are you okay, darling?" her mother asked shakily, and Kairi nodded. "You cut your hand," her mother continued, "someone told me that you were trying to smash it through a window."

"I was trying to get into Sora's room," Kairi snapped. Her mother looked at her with pursed lips. "Now Kairi, that's strange. Is that the boy you were saying was your friend?"

"He was my best friend. I played with him and Riku all the time. They disappeared at the same time. No one remembers except me."

Kairi's mother looked at her in alarm. "I think I'll just speak with one of the nurses for a brief moment, darling. Stay safe," she added, patting Kairi's arm as she walked away. Kairi listened in on the conversation as they had it, only half caring.

"Hello, ma'am, how can I help you?" the nurse who was coming in with Kairi's food asked.

"Um, yes, I was just wondering about a boy named Sora. She said she was at his house," Kairi's mother said unsurely. The nurse leaned in closer to her. "The woman whose house she went to didn't have a son. No one knows who Sora is. The description she gives of him doesn't fit any records. We think she made him up."

"You mean you think she's crazy?"

"I wouldn't say crazy, ma'am. It may have been posttraumatic stress. Has she lost a friend recently?"

"Yes," Kairi's mother said shakily. "Her best friend, actually. Riku. And when she was very young she washed ashore with no memories of where she came from. We adopted her."

The nurse nodded at this, sighing sadly. "I think we have our perp. It's almost definitely some form of posttraumatic stress. Perhaps she's even had an underlying condition that first became noticeable after this event."

Kairi's mother's hand flew to her mouth, and she fluttered her eyelashes as tears entered her eyes. "I haven't been home enough!" she said shakily, pursing her lips. "I was always shopping or something. But she seemed completely fine! She just took her midterms. She's made friends."

"Well the midterms could have been a stressor, too. It's good that she has new friends, though. Make sure keeps them. You might want to consider employing a psychiatrist."

Kairi's mother nodded, sniffing a little bit. "Yes, I definitely will."

Shortly after the nurse finished talking to Kairi's mother, the police came back in. One of them was agent Smith, whom Kairi had wanted to see for some time. Kairi brightened up as the woman came over to her and sat down in a chair beside her bed.

"Hello, Kairi," the woman said sadly. "I spoke with you about your missing friend just a while back."

"You spoke to me about Riku and Sora," Kairi replied sharply, and the woman looked at her coolly. "There was no Sora."

"Yes there was," Kairi said shakily. "They both went off on a raft together and got lost at sea, remember?"

"Don't you think he would have been on our paperwork if he'd disappeared?" Agent Smith asked lightly. "No," Kairi responded. "His name was erased from all paperwork. You commented on how strange it was yourself."

Agent Smith looked at her with narrowed eyes, and nodded slowly. "Okay…" she murmured, scribbling it down. "And you went to Mrs. Nomura's house, whom you had tea with regularly, and bullied her, repeating over and over that she had forgotten her son."

"She boarded his room up," Kairi said cuttingly is response. "Have your police check that out."

Agent Smith sighed, nodding to herself. "Alright, we'll check it out. Mrs. Nomura has said that she doesn't want to press charges, but she doesn't want you coming near her house anymore."

Kairi scowled at this, looking out the window in frustration. She should have visited the police and Sora's mother instead of studying for the tests. Why had she been so stupid?

"What you have done is very wrong," Smith added. "We'll have a psychiatrist talk to you soon."

The two females stared at one another for a moment, Kairi feeling completely betrayed. "You said that you'd find out more about it," Kairi sniffed. Agent Smith stared at her blankly as she began tearing up. "You don't remember at all," Kairi finally said, realizing that the woman had spent too long not thinking about Sora. He had been erased from her mind completely. Smith waited for Kairi to say anything else, but the girl just looked out the window near her helplessly, willing the sea closer to her so it could sweep her away.

After that, Smith left quickly and Kairi's mother replaced her at Kairi's side. "What did she say, Kairi?" her mother asked shakily. "They're going to bring in a psychiatrist," Kairi muttered in response. This seemed to brighten her mother up, and the woman patted Kairi's arm with excitement. "Yes, that's great. Fantastic!" she gushed. "This is a step in the right direction, Kairi. You've got to remember that."

Kairi snorted at the irony of the statement, but it just scared her mother more. They had nothing more to say to one another, so Kairi's mother traveled back to the front desk to talk about getting in a psychiatrist.

The lunch Kairi was given was simple; a tuna fish sandwich with assorted fruit on the side. The drink was a glass of water. She ate in silence, and by the time she had finished, the psychiatrist had come in. As the nurse took Kairi's tray away, Kairi peered out around her to get a better look at the woman who would be questioning her sanity.

The woman wore a dress suit with a skirt that went just past her knees. Her honey blond hair was impeccable, swept back into a bun. Her face was heart shaped and pink- kind. Kairi was beginning to feel a little more hopeful. She wondered how she could convince this woman that Sora was real. She'd have to take it a little bit at a time. As Kairi pondered over this, the woman came over to her and sat beside her bed.

"Hello, Kairi," she said gently. "My name is Hedda."

"Hello Ms. Hedda," Kairi replied politely.

The woman smiled warmly at Kairi, and looked around just as another nurse came in with a notebook and a pencil. She sat down at the end of the bed, looking about absentmindedly, and Ms. Hedda turned back to Kairi to continue.

"Now, I'm going to ask you some questions in order to understand what's going on with you a little better. Do you think you could do that for me?" she asked quietly and Kairi nodded. "Good," Ms. H said warmly, and flashed another bright smile at Kairi before beginning her questionnaire.

"Why are you here, Kairi?" the woman asked.

"Because I punched in a window," Kairi said flatly, inciting a chuckle from the woman beside her. "Now, Kairi. We know that's not it. I'd like to hear the whole thing. From your perspective," she added. Kairi pursed her lips and nodded, resolving to tell the whole story.

"I had gone to visit Sora's mother to see how she was doing. And when I got there, she said that she didn't know who I was talking about. The door to Sora's room had been wallpapered over and the doorknob had been removed and cemented shut. I got angry and tried to bash through the door. Then, I went around to the window and tried to get through so I could get into Sora's room, but it had been boarded up. Then the police came."

The woman nodded in deep thought, and Kairi looked over at the woman who was scribbling down notes constantly at the end of the bed.

"And who is Sora?" the psychiatrist asked. Kairi's conscience told her to be sparse with the information she gave to the woman, but she couldn't resist telling the woman as much as she could.

"He was one of my best friends," Kairi started in. "When I was really young, I washed ashore on Destiny Islands, and Sora and Riku found me. The mayor adopted me and I became friends with Sora and Riku. We used to play on the island off the shore of the mainland and we've been in school together for years. Sora was in the same grade as me and Riku was a grade ahead of us. We dreamed of seeing the outside world, but then Sora and Riku went off on the raft we'd built recently alone, and got washed away," Kairi blurted out quickly, yearning for the woman to understand her. Ms. H simply nodded as Kairi spoke, mulling things over in her mind and narrowing her eyes. Then, she gave that smile again. But she seemed perplexed all the same.

"Sora must be very important to you," she admitted, and Kairi breathed out a sigh of relief. "He _is_ very important to me. And I know he'll come back," Kairi added breathlessly, her words catching in her throat. She had not meant to say that. The woman stared at her momentarily and nodded to herself again, preparing to ask the next question.

"How long ago did Riku disappear?" The woman asked.

"The beginning of second term. Sora disappeared with him," Kairi added. The woman nodded. "That must have been hard, losing two friends at the beginning of the year."

"It was," Kairi responded quickly.

"What is your relationship to Ms. Nomura?"

"She's Sora's mother," Kairi replied incredulously. Hadn't she said that already?

"Is there any other way you knew her?"

"No. We all used to go to Sora's house sometimes. His mother would give us ice cream bars and we would talk. Then, after Sora disappeared she got really sad. I continued to visit her."

"Did Ms. Nomura have a history of sadness?" the woman asked. Kairi nodded. "She lost her husband a long time ago. Sora was young and I had just gotten here. It was hard for him. He said that I helped him get past it."

"And he in turn helped Ms. Nomura?" Ms. H asked. Kairi nodded.

The woman thought deeply about everything that they had spoken about in the brief time she had spent with Kairi, and finally stood up. "Well, Kairi. We'll have a proper session where we talk about a host of different things very soon. I just needed a bit of a catch up. It was lovely meeting with you," she added warmly, with a hint of coolness in her eyes. Kairi found it unsettling, but her warm voice made Kairi smile. "Thank you for listening to me," Kairi said and the woman left the room, along with the woman at the base of the bed who had been taking notes.

They went outside to speak with Ms. Smith. Just as they began talking, Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie traipsed in behind them. Tidus stayed behind a little bit, subtly listening in on the conversation as Selphie and Wakka walked ahead into the room to visit with Kairi. Selphie looked scared.

"Hi, Kairi," she murmured, hugging Kairi lightly. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Selphie," Kairi replied. "Thank you for coming."

Wakka stood behind awkwardly, deciding in the next few moments to sit down in the chair that had formerly been used by the note taker for the psychiatrist.

Suddenly, Tidus charged into the room, making a beeline towards Kairi, who was speaking with Selphie.

"Kairi," he said in a fright, and Kairi sat up a little bit. "What is it, Tidus?"

"They're planning on searching Sora's mother's house!" he said urgently. Kairi nodded in satisfaction. "I know! I told them too. Then they'll know that Sora exists."

Tidus scratched his head and Selphie moved away from the bed, looking like she was about to cry. Then, Tidus sat on the side of Kairi's bed as he spoke with her, staring intensely into her eyes.

"Look, Kairi. I know that this is weird for you to wrap your mind around, but we're all forgetting Sora," he started in a whisper. "It's not going to be long before I don't remember him either."

"What is the point, Tidus?" Kairi asked angrily. "The point is," Tidus began, pulling his arms out in front of him, gesturing as he spoke to indicate the urgency of the situation, "the psychiatrist was saying that if there _was_ furniture and stuff in the boarded up room, they'd have to consider the possibility that Sora's mother was unstable, too. Like she'd created this imaginary son for herself and that she's not letting go."

"Tidus, I don't get how anyone could come up with that," Kairi chuckled darkly. Tidus rolled his eyes. "I saw this on a TV program. The letting go thing. What if they made her throw out Sora's stuff?"

Kairi's heart stopped at this, and she began hyperventilating, her vision clouding. Before she knew it, Wakka was squeezing her hand and Tidus was giving her a big pinch on the neck to get her back in the zone. She calmed down without the psychiatrist knowing what was going on, and she nodded vigorously, indicating that she understood and feared what Tidus was thinking.

"What should I do?" Kairi said in an upset tone. "His door is cemented shut and you can't get his bed and desk out the window."

"Wakka and I can figure everything out. You ripped the wall paper out, right?"

"Would they have marked the crime scene already?" Kairi asked fearfully, and Tidus shook his head. "The police woman said they'd check it out tomorrow when they'd gotten more manpower."

"What about Sora's mom? What are you going to do about her?" Kairi asked. Tidus shrugged. "Maybe my mom can convince her to stay at my house- we could say that they may need to check the house out tomorrow."

"But then they'll know that you had something to do with it," Kairi said.

"It's okay, Kairi, we'll make sure we do it right," Tidus muttered, getting scared himself. Wakka finally clued in on what was going on, and folded his arms in front of him in protest. "Whoa, what are 'we' going to do, Tidus?"

"We're going to help Kairi!" Tidus said.

Wakka stared from Kairi to Tidus, and then back to Kairi, shaking his head in disbelief. "Kairi's crazy," he muttered, and Tidus gaped at him. "What the heck are you saying, Wakka?" he growled. Wakka puffed out his chest and looked at Tidus with a stern glare. "I'm saying she's gone frickin' crazy! Look at her; she's in the hospital for trying to punch through wood. Kairi, you're just making this kid up. I should have known that the kid didn't exist. Everyone knows everyone in this town," he blabbered angrily, only half knowing what he was saying. Kairi was beginning to breath hard again, so Tidus slapped her on the hand hard to get her out of it. "Shut up, Wakka," Tidus hissed and Wakka shut his mouth, narrowing his eyes.

"Please, Wakka," Kairi said, beginning to cry, and Wakka's eyes got bigger. "Just this once, and I'll stop talking about him. I promise. Just please help this once and I'll do anything you want."

Wakka seemed conflicted, but he quickly decided and nodded at Kairi with a sigh. "Fine, I'll do this stupid thing with you, Tidus."

Tidus grinned widely, and slapped Wakka on the back. "For Riku, Wakka," he said lowly, and Wakka nodded sadly. "For Kairi," he murmured to himself. "So what are we doing?" he added, getting a grin out of Tidus, who was obviously liking the idea of getting involved in borderline petty crime.

"We're going to take all the stuff from Sora's room and put it into the old haunted fisherman's shack on the back of Fisher's Island."

Wakka stared at Tidus in disbelief, and cursed under his breath, turning around and shaking his head. "What?" Tidus asked, and Wakka shook his head. "That's absolutely impossible, Tidus. To move an entire room of furniture across the island and across the ocean in one night? You're nuts!"

"We've got to try!" Tidus said.

"What if we get caught?" Wakka snapped in return. Tidus shut his mouth at this, not wanting to think about it. "You already promised," he tried, and Wakka rolled his eyes and curled his hands into fists. "This is ridiculous," he snapped. All Tidus could do was make puppy dog eyes at him, which did not work on Wakka. The older boy looked back at Kairi as he bit his lip, weighing the options in his mind. Kairi won out, and he punched Tidus' shoulder lightly but seriously.

"We've got to go plan," he muttered, turning his attention back to Kairi. "And whatever you do, don't give us away, or we'll all be in trouble."

They all gave Kairi a big hug, and everyone left except Selphie, who took Tidus' place beside Kairi, wiping the tears from her red puffy eyes. "Kairi, I'm really sorry about what happened," she mumbled. "Are you going crazy?" she added without thinking. Kairi blinked up at her, and then chuckled sadly. "Honestly, Selphie?" she murmured. "I don't even know anymore. It's been an awful day."

…..

Tidus walked Ms. Nomura nervously back to her house, and she patted him on the shoulder amicably. "Your mother was so kind. Thank you so much for letting me stay with you all, it was lovely to be in a happy home for a night."

Tidus laughed nervously, and then got quiet again as they came towards the house. He and Wakka had been as quiet as possible the night before, but if the neighbors had have been extra on edge they may have seen the boys carting out all the furniture and stuff. Maybe they would have thought it was the police.

The police were already at the house marking off the crime scene, and Tidus tried his best not to visibly shake, letting go of Ms. Nomura and waving goodbye to her. "I'll see you around, ma'am," he said with a smile, waving to Sora's mother and leaving.

Barrett stalked over to her, beckoning for her to come towards the crime scene. "We want you to see something," he said quietly. Then, he led her into the house and opened the previously cemented door to Sora's room, allowing Ms. Nomura to walk inside. She looked around with widened eyes and a tightly closed mouth, taking in the whole room.

It was completely empty. All that was there were the walls and the hardwood floor, which had been badly dented in many places. It was a completely blank space.

"The floors are dented. Some look fresher than other ones, but there's really no telling. Did you take a hammer to the floor recently?" The man asked. Sora's mother shrugged, looking around her expressionlessly. Her shoulders finally sagged, and she looked at the policeman with a far off expression, with puzzlement. "So it really was a dream?" she asked. "I mean my boy?"

Barrett looked at her momentarily, not quite believing what he was hearing. "I thought you said you didn't have a son, ma'am."

Sora's mother's hands fell to her side purposelessly, and she sighed heavily. Her expression was that of a person in such shock that they hadn't even realized anything was wrong with them yet. "It would appear that way," she cooed finally, and felt the walls affectionately. "I'm sorry," she said slowly. "I need to get out of here for awhile."

With that, she left the room, and looked around absentmindedly for something. There was a pile of blank photos in the recycling bin in the kitchen, and she looked through them meticulously, just in case. She looked in her room, searching in the bathroom, and underneath the bed, anywhere. Then, when she was looking through the closet, she froze. There was a little stuffed dog shoved in between two old suitcases, which immediately made her heart flutter. She grabbed it, and held onto it tightly, squeezing it. Suddenly, she heard Barrett walk in behind her. "What is that?" he asked, and Sora's mother whizzed around to look up at him. "Oh, it's just an old stuffed animal of mine."

Her memory couldn't put a finger on it, but her heart knew that it had belonged to someone else. Someone important to her.

….

Kairi sat patiently in the psychiatrist's office, waiting for the woman to come in. It was Saturday evening, and she'd been let out of the hospital about three hours ago. She'd had lunch out with her mother, and then they'd gone to the psychiatrist for evaluation.

The woman smiled that warm smile at Kairi that she usually did, but Kairi did not trust it as much as she previously had. "Kairi," the woman said. "Did you get to see Ms. Nomura's house?"

"No," Kairi said. "What about it?"

"The room you were saying held Sora's furniture and belongings was completely empty."

Kairi breathed out a sigh of relief at this, one that Ms. H picked up on easily. "You're relieved that what you told was a lie?" she asked gently. Kairi shrugged. There was silence, and the psychiatrist started off with the questions again.

"First off, Kairi, I've been looking over your history, and you were found washed ashore by Riku," the woman began, looking through her notes, but Kairi interjected, "and Sora," finishing the statement for her. The woman nodded. "Yes… Sora…"

"So, you came to Destiny Islands when you were just five years old, and you have lived here since. You had no previous recollection of where you came from. Around the time you came, Ms. Nomura lost her husband. You bonded with her, and Sora, her… son. You are the sole adopted child of the mayor and his wife. Recently, your friend Riku disappeared at sea. You're going into high school next year. Is that all correct?"

Kairi nodded. The psychiatrist nodded back, and then sighed and leaned in towards Kairi. "Now we can get onto the more interesting stuff. Do you remember when you first got to Destiny Islands?"

"Not very well," Kairi mumbled uncomfortably.

"Do you remember how it all felt?"

"I felt scared," Kairi murmured. "I felt alone. I was adopted pretty quickly. But the first person I saw was Sora. He was my first friend. Then Riku."

"Has Sora been with you ever since?" The psychiatrist asked quietly. Kairi nodded. "And after Ms. Nomura's husband died, did she cling to Sora?"

"Yes," Kairi said. "It was hard for Sora. He had to be very brave."

The psychiatrist nodded to herself. "How much were you at Ms. Nomura's house?"

"Not very much. I was mostly on the island off the coast. We played with Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie."

"And they don't remember Sora, do they?"

"No, they don't," Kairi replied. "I see," the psychiatrist responded.

"How is your relationship with your parents? How did they treat you after you came to the island?" the psychiatrist asked.

"They were really excited at first. My mother couldn't have children, apparently. The mayor was excited. They did a lot with me at first. I was busy. Then, he got busy and so did my mother. I didn't see much of them after that," Kairi said shakily. "And what about Riku?" the psychiatrist asked. Kairi shrugged. "Riku was always so hard. He was very serious. I think I got along better with Sora. He made me laugh and I made him laugh. We both made Riku laugh."

"So Sora helped you get along with Riku?" the psychiatrist asked, and Kairi nodded with a chuckle. "There were a lot of good times."

"What about Selphie, Tidus and Wakka?" the psychiatrist asked. Kairi shrugged. "We played with them, but only sometimes. I was a better friend to Riku and Sora."

"And Riku had some problems at home, am I right?" the psychiatrist asked. "He didn't know who his father was."

Kairi's heart fell, and she looked down at her lap. "I didn't know that," she murmured. "He never told us."

"Why do you think he didn't tell you?" the psychiatrist inquired gently. Kairi shrugged. "He was always trying to be tough. He was always saying he'd be the true man. I guess I get why he acted like that now…"

"So, you two had shaky pasts, and you found solace in each other. So did Ms. Nomura. And I suspect Sora did, too?"

"Sora lost his dad at a young age. A little while after I came. That's really how I made friends with him, I think. I helped him get past it."

"And Sora losing his father, what did that correspond to at your life, at that time?" the psychiatrist asked, shocking Kairi. She hadn't expected that turn of questioning. Kairi shrugged. "I suppose I'd just lost all of my memories. I was in a new home with new parents. I was like a baby."

"And so was Sora," the psychiatrist said. "Sora helped you heal."

"Yes."

"And then he stayed further. You played solely with him and Riku, you didn't make any other friends because _Sora_ was your friend."

"Yes," Kairi responded unsurely.

"And then, when you get to where you are right now, when you start making friends in your grade, Riku disappears, and so does Sora," the psychiatrist explained. Kairi nodded.

"Your midterms have just rolled around, perhaps you've been in denial about Riku for a long time," Ms. H continued. "Perhaps you're coming to the realization that he may not be coming back? That's a lot in just a few days. I can see why you went through something like this, Kairi."

Kairi stayed silent, having a sick feeling as to where Ms. H was going with all of this. "You say it like Sora was my mind's way of dealing with my life," Kairi said flatly. To this, Ms. H's face brightened up, but she kept her gentle demeanor, patting Kairi's hand. "I didn't say that, Kairi. You did."

Kairi gritting her teeth and glared at Ms. H, curling her hands up into fists.

"Why don't you just think about the possibility, Kairi," Ms. H tried. "You don't have to believe it, just give it a thought."

"I'm really tired," Kairi mumbled. "Can we finish the session for today?"

The psychiatrist nodded in satisfaction. "It was lovely talking with you, Kairi. We can talk about something different on Monday."

"Monday?" Kairi asked and Ms. H nodded. "I figure you need a break. Take a rest tomorrow, and then we'll see how school goes. If it's awful, tell me about it and we'll pull you out for a little while. If it's okay, we'll keep you in and see if we can help you through it."

"Okay," Kairi said, worrying now that rumors would go around the school. She wondered if Kuroha and Elyon would want to be friends with her anymore. She didn't know about Dahlia.

"Thank you," Kairi said shakily, and left the room. Her mother took her home and cooked her favorite dinner, and her father even ate with them, talking to Kairi about her day and how she was feeling. She wasn't used to all the attention, but she did appreciate it.

When bedtime rolled around, Kairi almost immediately fell asleep. Her dreams skipped back and forth. She was being chased by a heartless. Then, it began morphing into different shapes; Wakka, the psychiatrist, even her mother. Sora always came to save her in the end, but his face got dimmer and dimmer as time went on, until Kairi had to save herself.


	9. Week 8

As Kairi drifted through sleep, pictures floated through her mind like warm lights enveloping her on all sides. The little stars fell around her and if she peered closely at them she could see little memories inside each one. A strange, familiar boy with spikey brown hair and a warm smile stared out at her, beckoned her to come into the ocean, helped build a raft with her, slept when he was supposed to be building the raft with her- a host of pleasant glimpses into her past. Then the lights fizzled out, the memories faded, and the world around Kairi became black. She stumbled through it, noticing that her cheeks were wet. Then, her hair was wet, and her arms and legs. She shivered through the cold rain that was falling on her.

The darkness began to fade out into a concrete expanse that stretched forever on all sides of her, smooth but covered with a millimeter thick layer of rainwater. Kairi cupped her hands, and waited for her palms to fill up with the water, but they never quite did. It all drizzled out through the curves of her hands, no matter how hard she pressed the sides of them together; the water still escaped and fell onto the ground beneath her.

Peering down at the ground more closely, she was able to identify what she was feeling. Sadness. And loneliness. The concrete beneath her became translucent, and she could see someone through the ground, becoming clearer and clearer with the increasing translucence of the floor of rain. When Kairi finally saw what was beneath her, she noticed that it was Sora. He was smiling at her, laughing. Then, he moved away, and there was Kairi beside him, laughing and smiling, until her hair grew longer and her face grew paler with grief. Kairi stared at her reflection, seeing that though she had tried to fight it, she had changed. She would continue to change as Sora stayed the same, dimly lit in her memory, a candle that constantly sank down until the string was fizzled out and burnt to ashes.

The Sora beside her reflection looked somber, suddenly. He stood up, leaving her kneeling down, peering down at her as she looked at him, and suddenly Kairi felt like there was a presence over her shoulder, looking down at her from above, looking down at her reflection the same way that Sora was. When Kairi looked up, she gasped in fright, and fell back, staring up at the figure in front of her in terror. The piercing blue eyes stared back down at her, emotionless.

"I'm not going to hurt you," the figure murmured down at her, brushing its dark hair away from its face.

"You're that girl," Kairi wailed, and the figure stepped closer to her, bending down beside her and sitting down. "I'm sorry if I scared you. It's just not fair, what they're doing."

"What who's doing?" Kairi asked shakily. The girl shrugged. "He's been asleep for a while, now."

A picture of Sora came into Kairi's mind, and she became confused. When she looked down into the reflection of the water below her, Sora was standing beside her, but when Kairi turned her gaze beside her, all that was there was the strange girl. "Is Sora asleep?" Kairi asked. The girl shrugged, and tears filled her eyes, their brilliant blues dimming. Kairi was stunned by the sudden emotion.

"The time passes and you can't tell how much you have left. The days go by so slowly. They're achingly slow but it's so short!" the girl hissed bitterly. "How does that happen? How does it work?"

"I've lost someone. At least you can look at yours," Kairi muttered, "at least you can still see his face."

"It's excruciating," the girl replied angrily. "I talk to him but he never hears me. Sometimes I wonder if he's forgetting me as he sleeps. Like that kid," she added fearfully.

"Who?" Kairi asked in alarm. The girl chuckled. "The guy you were talking about before. Sora."

"What's he forgetting?" Kairi asked.

The girl stepped away from Kairi absentmindedly, pacing. "You," she said simply and carelessly, daydreaming. "While they both sleep we're left, huh? But mine's waking up soon. I can feel it. Can't say the same for yours. If he wakes up too early… it'll mess everything up…" she added in a mutter, suddenly guilty. Then, her face contorted with rage, and she looked at Kairi accusingly, shaking her head rapidly. "Everyone treats me like I'm a _toy, _like I'm mindless, but I _feel. _And so does Roxas," the girl hissed with a rising voice. "We've probably felt more than you and your friend _ever _did, so why is it that we suffer without hearts?"

"Please stop," Kairi said weakly, clutching her chest. Her heart felt like it was going to explode; it was beating so fast and hard. The girl stared at Kairi's hand, and glared at her in a bitter rage. "I'll never stop! Let the memories go to the strong! To us!" she chanted, raising her hand. As she raised it up, blue light fizzled from her fingertips, and went up, evaporating the rain and lighting the darkness around them. The girl's eyes were blue flames burning in their sockets. She stared intensely at Kairi as the sky began to crumble around her, diminished to ashes by the blue rockets whizzing from her fingertips.

Kairi screamed as the world around her was destroyed, the concrete translucent ground cracked and sinking. She felt herself lowering down with the sinking ground, and as Kairi looked up at the girl above her in fear, the beads of light that held her memories floated up around her and ascended into the sky again, floating up around the black haired girl gently as the girl looked at them in wonder. Kairi clutched desperately at the escaping memories, but they eluded her, attracted to the girl with the black hair, who smiled innocently, cupping her palms and collecting the memories in them like bubbles, like raindrops rising up from the ground, returning to the sky.

Kairi sank deeper and deeper into the darkness, sobbing and clutching for any sort of ledge to save her. The air around her became soft, like it was made of material, and she clutched at blankets, ripping them past her as she tried to ascend them to get back up to the girl. Kairi shouted Sora's name and shouted for help, finally throwing the sheets aside and jumping up with furious energy. She was trapped in arms that held her tightly, and she tried to get out of them savagely, pushing away as hard as she could.

Then, she began to pant, and looked around her, noticing that she was back in her room. Her mother was stroking her hair and rocking her back and forth in the bed that Kairi had torn asunder in her dream quest to ascend the sinking concrete floor. Her mother cried and told her to calm down, and Kairi blinked to test if she was in reality. When she found that she was in the real world, she wiped at her forehead, which was pouring with sweat. Her bedclothes clung to her, and she tried to tear them off absentmindedly, hating the feel of the cold, clamminess that accompanied bad nightmares. Her eyes were stained with tears, which her mother wiped away meticulously, fixing her hair too, which was also stuck to her head.

"You're staying out of school tomorrow," Kairi's mother said. "I don't care what the damn psychiatrist says, you're not fit to be in school!"

"I'd rather do that then sleep," Kairi mumbled in exhaustion. "I've got to get ready for the culture festival."

"Damn the culture festival!" her mother wept. Suddenly, Kairi's father was in the doorway, asking if everything was alright. Kairi's mother couldn't take it anymore.

"Our daughter is what's not alright! Look at her! You didn't play with her enough!" Kairi's mother wailed, pointing a finger at Kairi's father. They began to argue with frightful energy, going at each other like hissing cats. Kairi's heart began to beat fast and hard, and she slipped past them and into the bathroom to have a shower. They didn't notice her going at first, they were so wrapped up in fighting, but Kairi's mother finally snapped out of it and lunged after Kairi to the bathroom, checking if she was alright.

"Kairi, are you okay?" her mother asked sheepishly. Kairi nodded. "I'm just having a shower to wash the sweat off, mom," she sighed. Her mother nodded with a weak smile. "Tell me if you need anything. Do you want to use my nice shampoo?"

"No, it's fine," Kairi said. "Okay," Kairi's mother responded sadly, and exited the room. Kairi didn't hear her mother walking down the hall, so she assumed that she was sitting outside the bathroom. Kairi let the water run over her, waiting for it to warm up before she went near it. She turned the meter to where the water was nearly scalding, and she watched as her extremities slowly began to turn pink in the heat.

The tears in her dream had been cold. Her tears now were burning her cheeks. That's how Kairi could tell the difference between what was real and fake. The dream was a farce of real life. So was the girl. She was just created to confuse. She was nothing important. Forgettable.

Kairi hummed to herself as the dream sank into her deeper conscious, and Kairi helped her memory forget it, because she hated the dream so much. Even if it was a useful one to remember, it was too painful for Kairi to hold onto. Not this late at night. Not in these circumstances.

…

Kairi winced as she opened her eyes, looking around her bedroom as if she was trying to find something. She clenched her chest and attempted to slow her breathing to a normal rate, but she could not do so without closing her eyes and calming herself down. She had hardly slept the night before and she was exhausted by the dream that she had had. Ever since Sora had gone, she had had the most vivid dreams of her life.

She stared out her window at the sea, still dark in the early morning. The horizon was barely noticeably; the sun was just rising over the ocean. Kairi reached out to the sky absentmindedly, closing and unclosing her fists, pretending she was holding clouds.

There was suddenly a knock on Kairi's door, and her mother peeped her head in. She had a breakfast tray with toast, an egg, orange juice, tea, jam, and the coconut oil that Kairi liked to spread on her toast instead of butter. Kairi sat up with a weak smile, and her mother fluffed up the pillows behind Kairi, setting the little wooden tray with engraved flowers on the sides in Kairi's lap. Kairi examined the spoon as her mother fiddled with the tray and then with her, feeling like a little child. Was this the life of a princess? Kairi supposed that things hadn't changed much since she was a princess of heart in Hollow Bastion. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that that had once been a town. She still didn't remember very much. Just fragments. But that part of her life was so insignificant compared to what was happening now. Who she was missing.

"Are you feeling well?" Kairi's mother said softly, stroking Kairi's hand. Kairi nodded. "Yeah."

"I think you should pick if you want to go to school or not," Kairi's mother added shyly, trying not to get upset. Kairi wondered if she was thinking about the fight last night. "Are you sure you can go to school?" her mother added hopefully.

Kairi nodded again and started into her toast, spreading it with raspberry jam. She wondered if there was paopu jam. If they made ice cream out of it, they probably made jam out of it. She thought that it was probably very bitter.

Kairi's mother sighed dejectedly; deeply uncomfortable that Kairi was readily going to school, wringing her silk skirt in her long fingers. Then, she sighed again in deep thought, scratching the back of her head. She contemplated for a moment, before huffing, "If you need anything, you call me straight away. No principal intervention anything. He's nosy," she added, wrinkling her nose. That surprised Kairi. Her mother had never really talked about her principal before.

"Do you need help getting your things ready, Kairi?" her mother asked hopefully, but Kairi shook her head. "I can do that much myself, mom. But thanks for the breakfast," she added as an after thought, and her mother was satisfied. "I'm going off with some of the ladies," her mother murmured sheepishly, "Wakka is coming to pick you up, and so is Tidus," she added with strange emphasis. Kairi raised her eyebrows, but her mother was out the door before she could say anything else.

The part of Kairi that was still adventurous resented the extreme attendance that was being given to her, while the other part of her that had been growing these past few weeks was feeling pretty nice about it. It scared Kairi a little bit. Was it entitlement? The world curled Kairi's stomach, and she fiercely bit into her toast, telling herself that she would try not to be a nuisance to anyone any more. "I can do things for myself without whining all the time," she said to the air. "I know I'm not taking this very well So-," she paused and fumbled on the last word, pursing her lips and sighing heavily, as if the word would travel from the back of her mind out of her nostrils. "Sora!" she finally announced, but the room swallowed the word. Kairi ate quietly after that, biting into her toast and egg with the faintest hesitation.

Then, she got ready for school, hopping into the shower, brushing her teeth, getting her clothes on, and grabbing her bags before running down to the door. To her dismay, Tidus and Wakka had been waiting for her for about ten minutes. Her mother was already gone.

"If I'm late the next time, just leave me to walk on my own," Kairi muttered, but Tidus slapped her on the back good-naturedly. "Aw, come on, Kairi. The knights must wait on the princess!"

"I don't want to be waited on!" Kairi cried, and Tidus was taken aback. Wakka grinned slyly, nudging Tidus in the arm and bending close enough to his ear so that Kairi could barely hear what they were saying.

"The princess is feeling entitled to abhorrence," he said in a posh accent, and Tidus snorted, returning, "she says she doesn't like to be waited on!" in a rather loud, more flamboyantly posh accent than Wakka's.

"I can hear you guys, you know," Kairi tried to say sternly, but she was smiling before she could stop herself. Tidus laughed out loud, and it warmed Kairi inside. It was a lot like Sora's laugh.

"Well, let's go," Kairi continued loudly, and marched ahead of Tidus and Wakka, herding them out the front door so she could lock it behind them. Once Kairi was in the street, though, she suddenly felt shy. Suddenly she didn't mind so much if Wakka and Tidus hid her behind them, or if she could become invisible so she could go to school without anyone staring at her. But, she would not be waited on, so she marched ahead bravely, her whole body shaking down to the tips of her fingers and toes.

On her street, people weren't really paying much attention to Kairi because word hadn't gotten that far yet. But the closer she got to the school, and especially as she walked past the cottage homes near the beach, it seemed like the whole world was staring at her. It was surprisingly exhausting, and her heart was pounding by the time she reached the school building. She found herself clutching Tidus' and Wakka's arms tightly and Tidus blushed, looking away, while Wakka eyed Kairi closely, patting her hand affectionately.

Tidus suddenly let out a small noise that was a combination of a sigh, a gasp, and a whine. He hid his face behind his hands, pretending to adjust his hair as Kuroha bounced over to Kairi with a bright smile. "Hi, crazy girl!" she blurted out, kissing Kairi on the cheek, which surprised Kairi. "I heard you put your hand through a window," she added with a wink. "I know it's not true."

"Actually, it is," Kairi responded, much to Wakka's dismay. "I've got to go to the high school," Wakka interjected, "See you later, Kairi," he added in a mumble, and stalked off. Kuroha eyed him as he walked away, and then spotted Tidus through his futile attempt to remain unnoticed.

"Tidus!" she gushed, flinging her arms around him, and Tidus blushed madly, squirming out of her grip uncomfortably. She pouted and put her hands on her hips, pinching his nose. "Do you not like me Tidus? Anytime I get near you, you back off. Do you not like to be touched?" she added slyly, smiling coquettishly at Tidus, who nearly died of embarrassment. Soon, though, Kuroha's attentions were drawn back to Kairi, and she held Kairi's hand a little more seriously.

"Kairi, why did you punch your hand through Ms. Nomura's window?" Kuroha asked lowly. Kairi bent her head down, wondering if she should pursue her quest to get people to remember Sora. Her forgetful episode earlier that morning spurred her to push on. "She forgot about her son," Kairi said simply, and Kuroha looked at her blankly. "Kairi," she murmured nervously, "Ms. Nomura is a widower who never had children. Her husband died before they could."

"That's not true," Kairi said firmly, shaking her head, "she has a son named Sora who is away right now."

Kuroha nodded her head slowly, and Kairi couldn't tell if she believed her or if she was just trying to appease her. "I wouldn't lie," Kairi added swiftly. Kuroha shrugged. "I know you wouldn't lie…" she was about to say something else, but she stopped, and instead flung her arm around Tidus' shoulder, smiling at him. "I think we should just drop the Sora subject for now, okay? Maybe I'll remember him later."

Suddenly Kairi got the terrible feeling that Elyon had talked to Kuroha about the situation and that they were conspiring against her. A terrible, nightmarish possibility came into her mind that they were meeting with the psychologist to trick her. Kairi felt like she was going crazy. Her mother had no doubt told Tidus and Wakka the situation. Had Selphie been told, too? Everyone knew more than Kairi did. The paranoia almost over took Kairi, and she had to sit down for a moment to catch her breath, pretending that she was fine. "I just want to sit outside before the bell rings," she breathed weakly, and Tidus and Kuroha sat down beside her in slight concern.

The bell finally rang, and Kairi got up carefully, as if she would break if she jumped up too fast. Tidus and Kuroha walked with her to class, both looking confidently and aggressively forward, as if to fight off any curious stares coming Kairi's way. It just made the situation look more bizarre, like two warriors manning the front of Kairi's carriage. It made Kairi sick to think that she might be using people.

Her first period was language, and the teacher called her up after class to ask if she'd gotten a poem together for the culture festival yet. "Not yet," Kairi said weakly, not even wanting to think about it, and the teacher took off his glasses with a deep sigh. Kairi knew then that she was in trouble. "You know I'm hard on you because I expect more out of you," the teacher said lowly, looking up at her sternly, "If I don't see you picking things up then I'm going to have to cut you out of the program for the culture festival."

Kairi nearly gaped, but she kept her jaw held shut and the tears back behind her eyelids. "Excuse me?" she whispered politely.

The teacher sighed and put his glasses back on. "I'd just like to see you picking up the pace, that's all I want. When I see that, you'll be on the program again. I may even let you go first if I feel like you're doing well enough."

Kairi nodded sternly and turned around, returning to her seat as he exited the classroom. "I want to see you get an A by the end of this term," the teacher added at the door before leaving down the hall.

"That's impossible," Kairi said to herself, falling into her seat angrily. She set her head in her hands and gritted her teeth, the tears oozing out from her eyes. She hated that teacher with a fiery passion. Kuroha was about to ask if Kairi was all right, but Elyon advised her against it so that Kairi could pull herself together in peace.

Kairi came into the science lab during lunch to work with her science teacher, and she learned some new study habits besides some additions to lectures the teacher had said in class. They worked on extra homework together and Kairi asked questions. Kairi decided that she liked her science teacher a lot.

"Maybe I'll go into the math and science program in high school instead of the liberal arts one," Kairi announced suddenly, and her teacher eyed her seriously. "Kairi, I would love for you to do that," she said quietly. "But you should never get yourself into something because of a person," she continued, taking Kairi's hand. "An outsider won't sustain your love of something. Only you can do that. You have to love the thing itself."

Kairi raised an eyebrow, and the teacher relaxed, patting her hand affectionately. "Kairi, I know you've been having trouble with your language teacher, and I feel in some way that I've only aggravated that trouble," she said guiltily, taking Kairi aback. "What do you mean?" Kairi asked.

"I know that you're going through a lot right now, and different people are going to treat you differently about it," the teacher responded. "Some people deal with things the wrong way. That doesn't make them a bad person, they just…" the teacher struggled for the right words, rubbing the back of her head in search of a proper answer. "They just think they're doing the right thing when they're not."

Kairi smiled a little bit at this, and shrugged. "I guess you're right," she murmured.

Kairi finished eating her lunch, talking a little bit more with the teacher. It was hard to ask the woman anything personal. Kairi felt like she could trust the woman, but there was an invisible wall blocking the two of them. Kairi wondered if the science teacher felt it too.

Lunch ended, and Kairi wandered back to her regular classroom just as Kuroha and Elyon traipsed up the stairs leading up from the lunchroom downstairs. They saw Kairi and waved to her shyly, then Kuroha remembered her 'duties' and protectively went in front of Kairi, looking around her to see if anyone was eyeing Kairi in the wrong way. If so, they got a dirty look from Kuroha back. Kuroha sure could pull off a frightfully mean glance when she wanted to, and then she'd return to being all smiles a second later. The three sat near each other in class, and talked a little bit more. The other kids whispered about Kairi, but Kuroha and Elyon acted as if nothing had happened at all, so eventually the whispering died to nothing. Kairi was suddenly grateful for making friends before she'd started forgetting everything.

"So, how about we all go to the beach today?" Kuroha tried, and Kairi knew that she was doing it for her. Kairi blushed, making Kuroha ask what was wrong. "I have a meeting with my psychiatrist," Kairi mumbled. There was a painfully awkward silence, but Kuroha regrouped quickly and said it was okay. "We can go on the weekend!" she chirped, "or whenever you're free."

Social studies passed by, and then planning period came along and the three girls continued to talk about the upcoming culture festival. Elyon was excited about playing for the teacher of the arts school, who was coming to see her piano playing. The music teacher was still helping her practice.

"I'm working on this special composition," she added slyly, eyeing Kairi quick enough so that the girl didn't catch on. "That's nice," Kairi said in good spirits. Kuroha stared at Kairi in curiosity, and then leaned in closer to her. "So how's Tidus?"

Elyon rolled her eyes at this and sat back in her chair with her arms folded in front of her while Kuroha continued asking Kairi about Tidus.

"How old is he again?" she asked sheepishly. "Not old enough," Elyon responded bluntly, making Kuroha glare at her before turning back to Kairi with a sweet smile. "He's so entertaining. I kind of miss the study sessions. I can't wait to see him play blitzball," she added with a dreamy sigh. "Oh, I don't care how old he is! I'm interested!"

Elyon shook her head at this, sighing heavily. Kuroha ignored her, choosing instead to continue lauding Tidus on his many good qualities. "And he's so innocent!" she giggled madly. "He needs someone to teach him how things work…"

"Kuroha!" Elyon cried, and Kuroha giggled, flipping her hair behind her ear. "He needs to know what the bad girls are like so that he can avoid them."

"You've got the most twisted reasoning of any person I know," Elyon mumbled. Kuroha just laughed and Kairi was barely listening. She stared out the window in the direction of the psychiatrist's office where she would have to go in just a little while, after her creative writing club meeting.

The club gathered in the classroom as Dahlia headed to the front of the classroom to discuss the needs for the culture festival. "Okay, we've got three weeks until our 'open mic' night. I'm thinking that we'll have guests come up and read some of their poems. I've got a few literary folks who wouldn't mind doing a little showcase for us," Dahlia added. "Any thoughts on how we could get some money in?"

"We could have a raffle to see what regular people get to read their poems out loud," one of the kids at the back of the class piped up, and Dahlia scribbled the idea on the board. "That's great. We'll have professionals intermingled with students and regular folk."

Kairi wondered why Dahlia kept saying 'folk'; maybe it was her new catchphrase.

"And the four best poems are going to be read in order of judged scores at the beginning ceremony of the culture festival, before the stalls open up and the whole thing begins. We'll be hosting a stall on Saturday and then open mic will be on Saturday and Sunday evening. Then we're done!" she said. The whole class cheered, they were very excited.

"So we need to come up with something to get people really interested in coming to our classroom," Dahlia said with a serious glance. Kairi raised her hand and suggested they do a café theme, and everyone voiced their approval.

"Everyone can bring in a few different types of chairs from their houses, and it can be a really quirky type thing," a boy said. Dahlia nodded, "and I'll get people to donate small tables for the night," she added happily. "We'll set the front of the classroom up as a stage and then we'll have the tables and chairs. What about the café thing? Who's going to make the coffee?"

"I can ask my mom for her coffee machine!" a girl asked. "WE could ask for two classrooms, one for the café thing and the other for the open mic!"

"What if someone else is doing a café?" Dahlia asked suddenly. "Is the baking club doing that?"

"I don't think anyone is doing that, actually," the girl said suddenly. "We could even pair together with the baking club and share profits," she added shyly, and Dahlia nodded. "That will really help the 'togetherness' theme the school was spouting at the beginning of the year. We'll get extra brownie points for that," she continued, twiddling her thumbs in deep thought.

"How are you going to get the baking club to pair with us?" a boy asked, making Dahlia grin. She waved her closed fist in the air with a smile. "Big stick politics."

The class laughed and Dahlia looked quite taken with her joke. "All kidding aside, though, we've got to make this all happen in the next week so that the week after that we can keep things quiet for the sport festival. But the week after that is ours for the taking!" she finished with a roar, and the club cheered.

"Remember your poems are being graded again this Friday and next Thursday," the language teacher warned seriously. "If I see any of you slacking off, that will affect your score when we grade for the final time the Monday before culture week. All of your poems will be read on open mic night, but in order to get it read in the opening ceremony, you've got to work hard."

Everyone nodded, and Kairi squirmed uncomfortably in her chair, wondering if she would make it at all. There were about twenty kids in the creative writing club. One fifth of those kids would get their poem read, and Kairi was not the most prolific writer in the school by far. Some of the people in the club were just there for language practice, some were there out of interest, but a good five or so were actually thinking about writing when they got out of school. Kairi couldn't compete with that. Not with the poem she had been working on recently. So much had happened over the past few weeks that she had hardly been writing in her creative journal. She didn't have any material to write a poem with.

Everyone worked fervently on their poems, and the meeting finally adjourned. Surprisingly, her mother was waiting near the school gates with a new purse slung around her shoulder, looking uncomfortable. Kairi was pretty sure that her mother had been in her middle school about a total of five times in the three years Kairi had gone there. Kairi waved goodbye to Elyon and Kuroha after they talked to Kairi's mother a little bit, and Kairi and her mother walked towards the psychiatrist's office together, Kairi's mother babbling on about her shopping experience.

"This bag was expensive, but it was heavily reduced in price, I had to get it," she gushed, admiring it on her arm. "Doesn't it look nice against my skin?" she added brightly, modeling the bag on her arm a little unconsciously. Kairi nodded absentmindedly.

"Kuroha is such an interesting young girl, and so gorgeous!" Kairi's mother chirped. "She is just so beautiful! That black hair flows off of her head like night settling in, and those eyes against that porcelain skin," her mother nearly died of delight as she thought about Kuroha's skin. Kairi thought it was a little weird, but Kairi's mother had always had an infatuation with beauty. The first words that came out of Kairi's mother's mouth when she and the mayor had adopted Kairi were "she is going to be so beautiful when she grows up!" Kairi wondered if she still thought that. "She is going to have men trailing after her on their knees some day!"

"I think she's already working on it," Kairi mumbled, and her mother looked over at her in alarm. "Oh, no," she said softly. "She's so young! I must talk to her. Does she have a good female presence in her life?"

"She doesn't have a mother," Kairi responded, immediately regretting it.

"Oh my word!" her mother cried, her hand flying to her chest as she sighed dramatically. "No wonder she's so lost in the whiles of her own beauty! I must speak to her about these things! She's too young to be flinging herself away! She's much too beautiful!"

Kairi's blood curdled at this, but she kept her mouth shut and tried not to hyperventilate as she neared the psychiatrist's office. She already hated this place's presence. "Do you think I'm beautiful, mom?" Kairi asked suddenly, surprising her mother. The woman hesitated, and patted Kairi on the head, smoothing the girl's hair out. "Not yet dear, but you have the potential," she said sweetly, and Kairi's heart sank.

"Hello, ladies!" a voice called from in front of them, and when Kairi looked up, standing in the doorway of the office building was Ms. H. She smiled in a motherly way at Kairi and invited her and her mother into the reception area, where there was a coffee machine. They had lattes and Kairi ate a cookie, thinking about her 'baby fat' as she bit into the sweet with strange guilt.

"Now I'll ask Kairi a few personal questions, so I'll have to ask you to either leave or sit out here for a while, ma'am," the psychiatrist said softly, and Kairi's mother got her purse together. "I'm going to go. I'll be back in an hour, Kairi," she added, kissing Kairi's cheek. Then, it was just Kairi and Ms. H, staring at one another.

"Would you like another cookie, Kairi?" the woman asked, holding out the plate to Kairi warmly. Kairi suddenly wondered if there were drugs in the cookies or something. Her paranoia was coming back, and she said 'no thank you' to the woman with a shaky voice. The woman looked at her calmly, and nodded, setting the plate of cookies away. "Would you like to come into my office or stay out here?" she asked, and Kairi shrugged. "We can go into the office," Kairi said softly, and there was another nod from Ms. H before she led Kairi into the office. Kairi looked at the pictures on the wall as Ms. H 'worked' with her.

"How was school?" Ms. H asked immediately. "It was good," Kairi responded and Ms. H scribbled in her notebook with a smile. "That's good. And how is Sora?"

Kairi was surprised that Ms. H remembered Sora's name. This scared Kairi. She couldn't even remember his name properly. "I'm having trouble remembering him," Kairi blurted out, wishing she hadn't. She didn't want Ms. H to know anything. The woman nodded and set her notebook away, to Kairi's surprise. It made Kairi feel more comfortable.

"Why do you think you're having trouble remembering him?" Ms. H asked softly. Kairi shrugged, playing with the fringe on the side of the armchair she was sitting in. "Everyone in town has forgotten him already. Now it's happening to me," Kairi croaked, trying not to cry, "but I won't let it happen to me," she added suddenly.

"You know, sometimes our mind does things we don't understand," Ms. H said after a pause. "Sometimes these things are good and sometimes they're bad. It's our own way of dealing with things that have happened to us."

"What am I here to accomplish?" Kairi asked suddenly. Ms. H looked at her closely and shrugged. "What do you want to accomplish here, Kairi?"

"I want to get better," Kairi said weakly. Ms. H nodded, closing her eyes momentarily before opening them again with a smile. "That's what I want, too. Why don't we just start slow. We can discuss school, dreams, the past, the present, the future, anything you like."

"I had some dreams lately," Kairi began, "that were really vivid."

"When did these vivid dreams begin?" the psychiatrist asked. Kairi shrugged. "I think that started right at the end of the summer. As school began."

"Were you beginning to worry about Sora and Riku being gone?" Ms. H asked, and Kairi nodded. "Sometimes dreams can betray a troubled mind. Perhaps you were worrying about your friends more than you realized. How many dreams have you had since then?"

"Three," Kairi responded.

"Can you describe them?"

Kairi went into deep detail, telling the psychiatrist about the first dream that the black haired girl was in, then the dream about the tan fish, and then the next dream about the black haired girl.

"What's so scary about that black haired girl?" the psychiatrist asked.

Kairi looked away, wringing her hands in anxiety. "She has Sora's eyes, she has his voice, but she looks like a darker version of me. Her reflection is Sora, but her body is different."

"The part about the memories is really interesting. The 'let the memories go to the strong' part in particular piqued my interest. So you felt that that girl was taking over in a strange way?"

"Yeah!" Kairi said. "She said that Sora was forgetting me, too," she added, her voice cracking a little bit.

Ms. H nodded at this fervently, believing every word of it. "And the first dream about this strange girl occurred after Sora 'disappeared', correct?"

"Yes," Kairi responded.

"So what if this girl is impersonating Sora?" Ms. H asked. Kairi shrugged, confused a little bit. "And this girl is a darker version of yourself that came to your attention after Sora began to disappear?"

Kairi had a bad feeling about where everything was going. She could analyze things pretty well. But she wasn't completely sure yet. "What do you mean?" Kairi asked. Ms. H tried to elaborate.

"In the dreams, what you thought was 'Sora' was actually this darker version of yourself taking up your attentions. What if it's your mind's way of bringing attention to the way things are inside of you?" Ms. H tried. Kairi understood, and sat back silently, before clearing her throat and finishing for Ms. H. "So you think that Sora is the creation of my bad side?"

Ms. H's hands flew up, and she smiled again. "I didn't say that, Kairi. But I laud your perception. You are a very smart girl."

Kairi didn't know how she kept walking into this woman's traps. The ground under her feet was becoming less steady as she talked to the woman, like vines creeping through concrete; breaking it up and making it fall. Kairi swallowed hard, and her fingers shook as she worried.

"So let's say that there's a part of you that is still reeling from bits of your past that you haven't quite come to grips with," Ms. H said suddenly. "Sometimes we use harmful coping mechanisms that detach us from the world, leaving us in darkness," she added. "We have to bring ourselves out."

Kairi tried not to cry at this, but it was completely feasible and made her feel helpless. "Sora is real," she tried weakly, clutching at her heart, feeling like it would break if she didn't hold it together. "I know," Ms. H said, surprising Kairi. "He's real to you, but he's a mystery to everyone else."

"Because no one remembers him," Kairi tried. Ms. H smiled warmly again. "It's easy to use that as an excuse. But there's no doubt, that dark haired girl is getting stronger, isn't she?" Ms. H said.

"She said that Sora is forgetting me," Kairi murmured sadly. Ms. H nodded, patting Kairi's hand. "Don't let her tell you what to do. You can win over her!"

"But I can't just hand her over my memories of Sora," Kairi cried out. "They're mine, not hers!"

"Why not? She's a part of _you, _Kairi, whether a snapshot of a memory from your past or a side of whom you are now. You've got to get to know that side of yourself and take control of it!"

Kairi had never thought about this before. Maybe this girl was a side of her. Maybe it was trying to hurt Sora, whether in real life or in her memory. She couldn't let it win.

"I'll just try harder," Kairi said bravely, and Ms. H smiled. "That's the spirit."

They talked a little more about school and normal life, and Kairi began to feel more comfortable around Ms. H. She was well intentioned, but she didn't understand the true nature of things. Maybe Kairi would tell her about the adventures she had been thrust into during the summer some day.

Kairi's mother seemed pleased at Kairi's 'progress' when she picked Kairi up, and they went out to a small café near their house for tea. Kairi wanted to order a cookie with her hot chocolate, but her mother advised her against it.

"Kairi, you're getting to the age where sweets begin to turn against you," her mother said, pinching her cheek with emphasis. "You can only call it baby fat for so long."

Kairi sipped on her hot chocolate dejectedly, and said that she couldn't finish it half way through. "That's okay, darling," her mother said in satisfaction, patting Kairi's shoulder. "I could never finish anything either!"

Kairi's mother kissed her on the cheek, and they went back home. Kairi was drawn to the mirror again, and looked in it at her reflection. She had bags under her eyes from stress, and the pimple that had grown in between her eyebrows was finally going away. Another was creeping up on her cheek, and she looked closely at it in dismay, huffing as she peered closer into the mirror.

She pinched her stomach, and frowned. Then, she got down on the floor and did thirty curl ups. She decided she'd do thirty curl ups a day. Just to get rid of the baby fat.

….

Kairi worked extra hard in PE during that week, and tried to eat a little bit better. Her mother didn't seem to notice her new habits. Kairi began to hate when she talked about Kuroha, changing the subject whenever her mother brought up how pretty the girl was. Kairi continued to go to the psychiatrist everyday that week, along with creative writing club in addition to working with the science teacher every day. She wrote in her creative journal fervently and worked on her poem, hoping that it would get into the culture festival. She decided that she'd do one about Sora- a good one this time.

In planning period on Friday, Kairi sat with Kuroha and Elyon again, watching Kuroha pick at her fingernail polish. "I hate when it peels off," Kuroha said with a pout. Then, she tried to distract herself from her nails by talking about Tidus again. "Do you have the psychiatrist today?"

"No," Kairi said, and Kuroha cried out in delight, grabbing Kairi's hands. "Can we go over to your house today?"

Kairi felt uncomfortable with Kuroha coming over to her house. She didn't want her mother giving out about Kairi's baby fat, or her hair or skin in front of Kuroha. "Okay," Kairi finally acquiesced, and Kuroha gave a delighted clap. "Invite Tidus over!" she added with a gush, and Kairi nodded.

"Invite Wakka for Elyon," Kuroha added slyly, and Elyon blushed madly, hiding her face in a book. "Does Elyon like Wakka?" Kairi asked, brightening up a little bit, and Kuroha nodded in excitement. Kairi felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders, and immediately thought about the possibility of Elyon and Wakka getting to know each other. Maybe they'd eventually go out together.

"That's great!" Kairi chirped, but Elyon looked sour. "He likes you, Kairi," she muttered bitterly, and Kairi pursed her lips in surprise. She'd had the bad feeling that Wakka liked her, but she hadn't wanted to believe it. She didn't much care for Wakka. Their personalities just didn't match up very well. "I'll get you two together," Kairi said with a wink, and Elyon finally smiled a little bit, sheepish.

"Tell Kairi about it," Kuroha gushed, and Elyon sighed. "I've liked him for a really long time. But I promise I didn't know he was your friend until after we started talking to you!" Elyon added suddenly. Kuroha smiled. "Yeah, she's liked him ever since she saw him playing blitzball years ago," Kuroha giggled. Elyon blushed. "He's handsome," she whispered, and then she blushed again.

"Let's meet up later on," Kairi said. "After I go to the creative writing club."

"Okay!" Kuroha responded. "Tell Tidus and Wakka!"

Kairi nodded just as the bell rang, and went to the classroom where the creative writing club was being held. Everyone was handing their poems in to be looked at that day, and Kairi stood up nervously when it was her turn to turn hers in. The teacher looked at it, and narrowed his eyes. "It's not bad, but by no means is it good," he murmured, handing it back to Kairi. "Am I still in the running?" Kairi asked nervously, but the teacher did not respond. "What should I fix?" Kairi elaborated. "Whatever you think needs fixing," the teacher responded with a smile. Kairi thoroughly disliked the man. The club finally ended, and as Kairi walked out, she caught Dahlia and got her to read the poem.

"It's not developed enough," Dahlia said immediately. "You've got to go deeper with it and connect everything. This idea isn't important to the theme of memories. You're concentrating too much on the 'sky', you've got to connect them or remove them," she finished quickly, and skipped off ahead. "I've got to go home, my aunt has come over from the other side of the island for my birthday."

"It's your birthday?" Kairi asked, and Dahlia shrugged. "Yeah."

"Happy birthday," Kairi responded. Dahlia smiled at her in return, and went off up the road to her house. Kairi walked back by the high school where Wakka was coming back from blitzball practice. "I've got to get Tidus," he said, and jogged over by the beach to pick up Tidus from his blitzball team. They playfully fought on the way home, wondering about their game against each other next weekend.

"Hey, is Kuroha going to be there?" Tidus asked suddenly, and Kairi opened the door before he could run away. Kuroha threw her arms around him, and led him into the living room, gushing laughter and fast-talking all over him. Tidus let himself be led into the living room mindlessly, and he just stared at Kuroha as she talked animatedly, almost drooling. He was falling hopelessly in love with her and Kuroha hadn't realized it yet. Tidus seemed to be fighting against the feeling, though.

Wakka was placed strategically beside Elyon, but the two didn't talk as much as Kairi would have liked. Kairi sat away from the two 'couples', trying to spur conversation between them. Tidus and Kuroha were heatedly debating the anatomy of a good cake, Kuroha preferring anything with fruit in it and Tidus preferring chocolate.

"I bet you have a tummy to show for all that chocolate!" Kuroha said loudly, poking Tidus' stomach. "I do not!" he responded, puffing out his chest a little bit. "I play blitzball and exercise a lot, I bet I have a six pack."

Wakka laughed heartily at this, inciting a scowl from Tidus, who looked at him with narrowed eyes and a hard glare.

"Well, let's prove it," Kuroha said suddenly, and pulled up Tidus' shirt a little bit. He cried out at the unexpectedness of the gesture and shoved his shirt back over his stomach; pulling his legs up in front of him the same way he did the last time Kuroha touched him spontaneously. Kuroha watched the spectacle in curiosity, grinning. Then, she laughed, letting herself fall over Tidus, looking up at his blushing face. The rest of the party watched the exchange with discomfort, finally averting their eyes as if they were listening into a private conversation.

Kuroha's eyelashes fluttered and her cheeks pinked as she looked up at Tidus, who looked like he was ready to melt. They sat looking at each other for the expanse of about a minute, before Tidus finally ripped his gaze away from her and rolled over onto his stomach on the couch. Kuroha playfully sat on top of him, refusing to get off of him until he apologized for being so quiet.

"It's not my fault!" he whined, scowling again, and Wakka fell into a fit of laughter looking at the absurdity of the spectacle in front of him. Elyon rolled her eyes at Kuroha, and Wakka caught this too, patting her shoulder and laughing again. This made Elyon blush, and she looked away suddenly so that Wakka could not see her grinning widely.

Kairi suddenly felt like she shouldn't have been around the four. She squirmed and became deeply uncomfortable, telling everyone she needed to go into the bathroom.

When she was in the safely of the bathroom, she got into the bath and pulled the curtain back, using a towel for a head cushion and closing her eyes with a tired sigh. Then, she began to cry very hard, hiccupping and scrunching up her face like a child. After about five minutes, she slapped her cheeks to regain control of herself, and put her legs up in the air, examining her feet. The blisters from her shoes were turning into callouses, which did not look very good. Maybe she did need new shoes.

Kairi rubbed her feet tiredly, sniffing a little bit. Then, she got out of the bath, blew her nose, and wiped her eyes off. She washed her face to see if the red puffiness that had engulfed it would go away, and sighed when it did not. Kairi waited a few more minutes, and silently descended the stairs again. By that time, her mother had returned, and Kuroha was talking to her in deep attention. Wakka and Tidus were standing in the front hall speaking to each other in hushed voices. And Elyon sat in the front room; staring at the new carpet that had replaced the one the StuCo girls spilled nail polish on weeks before.

Elyon spied Kairi's puffy face the minute she walked into the room, and she smiled coolly, looking at her hands. "You can have Wakka if you want," she murmured. Kairi was taken aback but was able to shake her head. "I've got Sora."

Elyon looked up at her with a silent, understanding 'oh'. "That's why you disappeared upstairs?"

"Yeah," Kairi said in embarrassment, and Elyon shrugged, again understanding. "It's hard losing someone you love. I know…" Elyon struggled with something, and tried to say it, but just as she was about to speak, Kuroha ran back into the living room and threw her arms around Kairi in deep excitement.

"Your mom says we're going to go to a modeling agency together tomorrow!" Kuroha said in delight, and Kairi's heart fell. "That's nice," she smiled weakly. Kairi's mother called everyone in for dinner, and they all ate together with the mayor, being careful and polite. Then, it was time to go home. Wakka and Tidus walked off together, but Kuroha and Elyon slept over at Kairi's house, and in the morning, they got ready to go to the agency. Elyon said that she would come with them but did not want to meet any representatives.

Kairi tried to get out of it, but her attempts at escape were futile. The agency interviewers were intimidating, and Kairi found herself fumbling for the right words when speaking with them. Kuroha went into a different room at the same time as Kairi, and Kairi's mother sat out in the waiting room with Elyon. Kairi walked out of the room with a sad sigh, wondering if the people liked her or not. Then, she saw her mother talking heatedly with one of the interviewers, who finally told Kairi to come into the office.

"Well, we'll put you on our agency list, Kairi," he gushed, and Kairi wondered if she had gotten intervention from her mother. "If we have a job for you, we'll give you a call." Kuroha was also added to the agencies list of models.

When they were all finished at the agency, they went out to lunch. Kuroha talked about how nice and cool the people who interviewed her were while Kairi ate her lunch silently. Her food wouldn't go down extremely well, and she gulped hard to push back the lump that was forming in her throat. Kuroha moved subjects and began talking about Tidus, and Elyon glanced at Kairi every once in a while to see how she was doing. When they left the café, Kuroha walked with Kairi's mother and Elyon walked with Kairi.

"How was it?" Elyon asked.

"Horrible," Kairi responded, tears forming in her eyes. She watched her mother walk with Kuroha. "I might as well trade families."

"Kuroha is an attention hog," Elyon said coolly. "You've got to tell her when you feel her encroaching. She doesn't have a mother, remember? She loves your mother's attention."

"But she _my _mother," Kairi hissed. Elyon was silent for a moment, before asking, "how's your mystery friend doing?"

"Who?" Kairi responded.

"I can't remember his name," Elyon replied. Kairi sighed, having to think about it herself. Then, it clicked.

"Oh! Sora."

"Yeah, him."

"It's not going so well. The psychiatrist is trying to tell me he's fake."

"You know, it's a plausible idea. I went through the same thing. I kept seeing my sister wherever I went; I thought I was going crazy. My parents didn't have money for a psychiatrist, so I had to try and deal with things myself. I still see her sometimes," Elyon added sadly.

Kairi looked at her in shock. "You lost a sister?"

Elyon smiled weakly, and patted Kairi on the shoulder. "Just be glad that yours was swept up by waves. Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime, when you really need to hear it."

"Do you not trust me yet?" Kairi asked, and Elyon snorted. "I wouldn't even trust Kuroha with this. I don't know why I'm being so open with you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Kairi whispered. They walked beside each other for a moment, and Elyon smiled suddenly. "The memories are worst when I play the piano."

Kairi remembered the time that Elyon got irritated with her when she was asking Elyon about loss. Elyon seemed to think a lot more in that storage room, with the grand piano under her fingers. Kairi finally understood.

She wanted desperately to ask Elyon exactly what happened, but she knew it would be wrong, and Kairi's mind was whizzing back and forth with mad thoughts that rendered her incapable of speaking right. The conversation dropped, and Elyon started up a new one as they walked down the road, tagging along after Kuroha and Kairi's mother aimlessly.


	10. Week 9

**Sorry this chapter is so long and so late coming! Was very busy, and it's probably late because it was so long! I didn't want to split Sports Week into two parts. Enjoy!**

Sports week had officially started, and now Wakka and Tidus were nowhere to be found when Kairi was walking to school- even though she was going early. They were probably practicing for the blitzball tournament as much as possible nowadays. Everyone was required to participate in sports week, whether in an actual sport or in the setup for everything. Kairi wasn't in any sports clubs, but everyone who absolutely _didn't _want to be a part of the events had signed up for a position running information booths, refreshment stands, or any other organizational position the teachers could come up with. So Kairi decided to sign up for rowing and a long distance running event. She figured she'd ran so many times to school with Wakka that she was pretty good at it by now. There was going to be teacher events too, for fun, and a teacher versus student section.

In school, the whole theme that week would be sports, nutrition, and over all bodily health. Science was going to concentrate on nutrition and the anatomy and biology of exercise, health would no doubt be a nutrition plan for the week that the kids had to at least _try _to participate in, other than that, during health, PE, and planning period, kids in events were allowed go and practice, while the kids _not _in events helped set up for the sports festival at the weekend. Special guests would be coming in to speak with the students, too. Everyone got really into sports week. It was a little crazy.

When Kairi got to school, kids were already running around the halls like mad people, pink cheeked and excited for the end of the week. There were streamers set up on the walls, and the Student Council was decorating the school with all its might. Kuroha and Elyon had been assigned one hallway, and Kairi helped them out as they talked about what events they would be in. Kuroha had signed up for long distance running, too, even though she said she wasn't very good at it. Elyon signed up for swimming. She said she was decent but wasn't expecting any medals out of it.

"What did you sign up for, Kairi?" Kuroha asked, concentrating on a poster she was putting up about the food pyramid. Kairi shrugged with a chuckle. "Oh, long distance and rowing. I don't really think I'll do that great though."

"That makes three of us," Elyon responded and Kuroha laughed. "I can't wait to see Tidus play blitzball!" Kuroha giggled with her hand over her mouth, making Elyon scowl. "Why are you so taken with that little kid? I thought you hated underclassmen."

"I do not!" Kuroha retorted, pouting. "This one is different."

"They're all different if they're good looking and taken with you," Elyon muttered. Kuroha laughed again and made kissing noises in Elyon's ear. Scowling, Elyon waved her away angrily, crossing her arms in front of her as Kuroha laughed again.

"Elyon, why don't you go on a date with Wakka? Kairi, why hasn't this been arranged yet?" Kuroha said suddenly, turning to Kairi for an answer. Kairi shrugged and Elyon scowled again, this time harder. "He doesn't like me!" she hissed dejectedly. "He likes Kairi."

"That never matters!" Kuroha scoffed. "You've got to make him like you more than Kairi," she said intensely, then added, "no offense, Kairi."

"None taken," Kairi responded with a smile. The two were a funny pair. Kairi still wondered about Elyon's sister though, it had been in her thoughts all weekend.

"No non sports related clubs all week, right?" Elyon asked, and Kuroha nodded. "It's all about sports this week," Kuroha said. "The sports clubs from the high school will be setting up stands!" Kuroha giggled. "I can't wait to see the high school boys!"

"Kuroha, you are insufferable," Elyon muttered, but Kuroha didn't hear her.

The first period bell rang, and everyone filed to their classrooms, the students just coming in the front double doors admiring the decorations the Student Council had set up. Kuroha, Elyon, and Kairi sat down in their seats just as the language teacher filed into the classroom with his briefcase and jacket in hand. Kairi rolled her eyes when she noticed that the jacket was brown tweed, indicating it to Elyon and Kuroha, who sniggered. "So bohemian," Kuroha said in a deep posh accent, raising her eyebrows. Elyon broke out laughing at this, and Kuroha smiled devilishly as the teacher looked right at them with narrowed eyes. He eyed Kairi in particular, and she sighed, turning back to Elyon and Kuroha in dejection. "Great, I'm in trouble again."

"I'm sorry!" Elyon said suddenly. "If I hadn't laughed so loud he wouldn't have looked over at us."

"It's okay," Kairi responded. "He probably thinks that I'm a bad influence on you two."

The teacher stood up then and walked over to Kairi's desk, putting his hand on it and looking at her seriously. "Kairi, if you continue to disrupt the class I'll have to separate you from your friends."

"Yes, sir," Kairi mumbled in return, and then noticed Kuroha making faces behind the teacher as he walked away with a nod. Kairi tried not to smile, but it was very hard, and she ended up putting her head down on her desk. The teacher probably thought that she was being dramatic, but she didn't care. Kairi suddenly thought of how Kuroha and Elyon were a little bit like Sora and Riku. They were just different people with similar dispositions. Elyon had Riku's sarcasm and deep thought, and she had Sora's kindness. Kuroha had Sora's sense of humor and penchant for mischief, mixed with a larger version of Riku's mean streak. Kairi suddenly felt a wave of relief run over her, and her mind was put to rest a little bit. Then she suddenly realized that she was scheduled for the psychiatrist again today, and she was not particularly looking forward to it, but she would try to get through it anyway. The woman kept pulling information out of Kairi and twisting it around without the girl knowing. It was frustrating, and Kairi realized she'd have to be more careful about what she said.

The principal suddenly came on the intercom telling everyone that there was going to be a meeting in the high school auditorium to begin sports week. Everyone filed out of their classrooms in excitement, trying to assemble themselves into organized lines but failing miserably.

There was a crunch of people trying to get in through the front of house of the auditorium building, and everyone finally squeezed through and seated themselves in front of the stage where the principals would be giving out information. Both the high school and the middle school principals were on stage discussing and laughing about insignificant topics, holding cups of coffee that had no doubt been given out backstage to the speakers.

"Save a seat for Tidus and Wakka!" Kuroha piped up, and maneuvered everyone so that there were two spaces in between herself and Elyon. Kairi suddenly felt a little bit left out, but she didn't say anything, because she knew how much Elyon liked Wakka. Tidus came in first, and Kuroha practically dragged him over to his seat, sitting him down beside her. He squirmed in the chair uncomfortably, coughing a little bit and checking his breath while Kuroha fixed her hair a little bit and checked her face in a little hand mirror she had brought along. Wakka was the next to come in, and scanned the crowd hopefully to see if Kairi had saved a seat for him. When he saw that the seat was instead beside Elyon, he shrugged and walked carefully down the aisle to sit beside her, smiling at her as he did. Elyon blushed madly, messing with her hair and her glasses and generally trying _not _to talk to Wakka. Kuroha indicated for Kairi to make Elyon talk, and Kairi tried to make Elyon feel a little bit more comfortable. Elyon and Wakka started to talk to each other, even laughing a little bit. Kairi looked ahead to see when the meeting would start.

"Hello, students," the high school principal finally said with a smile, adjusting her cat eyeglasses and looking down at her notes in front of her. Kairi suddenly had the thought that she had not been at the meeting in the beginning of the year that discussed Riku and Sora's disappearances. Of course, now there was only one recorded disappearance.

The woman smiled wider and spread out her hands as if engulfing the whole auditorium in one swift hug. "Welcome to sports week!"

There was a rousing cheer from the audience, and the principal clapped her hands in tune with the student body. Then, she quieted everyone down and continued speaking.

"Before we get to our presentation of Sports week past and present, I just want you all to know that we have the least number of students participating in events in 10 years," she chided as a number of snickers rose up through the aisles of seats. "I would have hoped that more people would be interested in perpetuating this beautiful examination of heritage and tradition, as I myself was part of the volleyball team the year we beat the high school team!"

Everyone groaned as quietly as they could as the principal went into a long monologue about how wonderful that sports week was and how glorious it was when they had won. Kairi was beginning to fall asleep when the principal finally got to the rules section of the presentation.

"No drugs whatsoever. I know it seems like a ridiculous thing to say at such a small level of competitive sport but it still happens. More often then you all would think."

Kairi noticed Kuroha whispering something in Tidus' ear. He laughed softly, and returned a whisper to her. She nodded and continued to whisper to him, trying not to get attention drawn to her. Wakka and Elyon sat silently, Wakka peering over at Kairi every once in a while to see what she was doing. At one point, they met eyes, and Kairi blushed a little bit in embarrassment. At this, Wakka grinned a little bit, and sat back in his chair, getting comfortable. Kairi wondered if he'd taken it the wrong way.

"In conclusion," the principal finished, setting the rule sheet aside, "as culture week is a reexamination of the soul, sports week is a reexamination of the body. This week we need to give special attention to our own physical needs, and the needs of others, whether that be food, exercise, or bodily relaxation," after saying the last 'physical need', the principal chuckled and said, "which I can be sure a few of the faculty would like, including myself." There was a tittering laughter that flowed through the faculty seated in the audience, as all the teachers nodded to each other. The principal seemed chuffed with her own joke.

"Now," she said, calling up two Student Council representatives. They wheeled up a small bell inlaid with little silver paopu fruits and a specially carved, white wooden gavel on a rolling table. The principals of the high school and junior high school both stepped up to the small table and took hold of the handle of the little gavel, and at the same time, rang the bell with it. Then, the gavel was returned to its special place beside the bell, and the same Student Council representatives wheeled the contraption off stage. The high school principal gave a short clap and a smile. "With the ringing of the Destiny Islands Bell, Sports Week has officially begun!"

There was a cheer from the audience, and everyone stood up to leave the auditorium and go back to class. They all chattered loudly on the way back to their schools, and Wakka walked close to Kairi on the way back. He coughed, and rubbed the back of his head a little self-consciously. "I saw you looking at me a little," he chuckled and Kairi shrugged. "Yeah, I was looking over at Kuroha."

"Oh," Wakka said with a smile, not entirely believing Kairi. "I thought you were looking at me."

"No," Kairi corrected politely, "I think it's just one of those things where two people just meet eyes at the same time, when they've stopped looking at something and are moving onto something else," then she finished, "there's no reason to it, it just happens."

Wakka's eyes got a little big at this, and he inched closer to Kairi in awe. "That was really smart," he said softly. "I feel the same way."

Kairi felt herself groaning internally and tried not to let it escape out of her throat as she peeled off towards the junior high. Unfortunately, Wakka was very good at keeping up with her, and he talked nearly nonstop until he was forced to go back to the high school and leave Kairi to go to the junior high school.

As Kairi neared the front doors, Kuroha jumped up beside her feverishly, looking back in the direction of Wakka. "What did Wakka say to you?"

"Nothing really," Kairi said lightly, noticing Elyon coming over out of the corner of her eye.

"He looked really into you," Kuroha said a little too loudly, and Elyon was smart enough to know what they were talking about. Kairi didn't know what to do in the situation; Elyon seemed really down in the dumps. "Uh, I don't think he was into _me…_" Kairi tried nervously, but Kuroha shot her down. "He was looking at you with those puppy eyes," Kuroha giggled. "What did he say?"

Kairi sighed, and replied in a short snap, "he was asking me about Elyon."

"Really?" Elyon and Kuroha responded brightly. Kairi nodded, sending Elyon into a fit of nervous giggles. Kuroha looked at Kairi suspiciously, and then shrugged, patting Elyon on the back. "Maybe it's because both of you are kind of quiet," Kuroha reasoned, "You should be more confident around him, say what you want to say."

"I will from now on, definitely," Elyon sighed, putting her hand over her heart. Kairi suddenly felt very bad. She'd have to make Wakka like Elyon, now. It couldn't be _that _hard. She'd just talk about Elyon a lot and be a little cold to Wakka. Then things would be fine again.

"You got yourself a high school boy, Elyon," Kuroha said with a giggle, hugging Elyon, "you're making me proud."

"That's not something to be proud of!" Elyon scowled, and Kuroha laughed, making Elyon grin a little bit even though she didn't want to.

They filed up to science class, because the expansive meeting for sports week had taken a whole class period. The language teacher was grumbling because it had been his class, and he shouted to students running down the hall that their homework was still due today and they would have a quiz next class. Kuroha groaned and set her head in her hands. "I'm so tired of school already and it's only second term…"

"What do you guys think high school will be like?" Kairi suddenly asked. Elyon shrugged. "Same as this except harder and more specialized," she replied. She was much brighter after the 'news' she had been given about Wakka. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to lie to a person for something like this. She seemed to be feeling a lot better. Kairi was pleased. If everyone around her were smiling, maybe it would make it easier for her to wait and not be sad.

Then, Kairi frowned. What was she waiting for? She knew it was something important. She scratched her head to try and remember, and finally she thought of Sora. "Of course!" she whispered to herself, a little upset at her feeble memory. But then, memories of Hollow Bastion and the day they'd been separated at Destiny Islands crashed back upon her like a ton of bricks. Pictures flew through her head and she was nearly swept off of her seat with it.

Elyon looked over just in time to see Kairi getting dizzy, and steadied her. "Are you alright?" she asked seriously, getting frightened, and Kairi nodded with an airy chuckle. "Yeah, I just all of a sudden got dizzy."

"Do you want to go to the nurse?" Elyon asked.

Kairi thought about the psychiatrist suddenly and swiftly shook her head. She did not want to give the woman reason to pry into her life any more. The less sessions she attended with the woman, the better. She felt like Ms. H was facilitating her forgetfulness when it came to Sora.

The science teacher came in and began talking about nutrition, trying to wheedle it into the curriculum she had made for the whole year. She didn't want to miss a single lesson due to sports week. "And there won't be any tests after all this week because they want people to concentrate on their sport events," she scowled, passing out packets to the class. "This is on nutrition. We'll discuss it tomorrow; have the whole thing done by then. Now, back to the human brain, shall we?" she said with a smile, inciting groans from a number of students.

Science passed by at a snails pace, then health and PE came along. Kairi was able to practice her long distance running and rowing. For the first class period, she ran with the students participating in the running events, and then when the second class period was set to start, all the runners and non runners who were participating in the rowing competition met on the beach. The PE teacher looked at everyone with a bright smile and pointed to the boats that had been set up.

"Luckily, the high school and a few fishermen donated a load of extra boats for us to use, if you have your own boat you can use that, but there is going to be a set style of boat used in the races," she explained. "You all have a whole class period to practice, and then we'll go back to the school so you can have at least twenty minutes for lunch. That should be enough, right?"

There were some groans, and the teacher put her hands on her hips indignantly. "What the heck do you all eat?" she snapped. "Is the lunch an 'all you can eat' buffet? You're all supposed to be watching your nutrition. Small portions eaten slowly take twenty minutes to eat at the most. Stop complaining."

Everyone trudged over to their boats and hopped into them, taking off onto the sea and mostly messing around. Kairi pushed on ahead of the rest of the group, the sweat dripping from her PE shirt and shorts in buckets as she looked up at the sky.

There was hardly a cloud to be seen and the sky seemed more intensely blue than usual. Kairi breathed in the salty sea air and let out a sigh of contentment as she continued to row. Then, she noticed the island looming in the distance, coming closer and closer. It encroached on her like a beast, the tall trees of its center bending down over her, watching her as she rowed.

Kairi peered around her to see if any of the students were watching. The teacher was sunbathing on the beach, and the kids were all circling the island. Kairi decided to go on it just for a moment.

She pulled her boat up along the shore and into the line of trees up past the sand, dashing through the wooded area of the island in excitement. Looking around her, the trees still seemed the same height as they were a year ago. She hadn't grown much taller. Apparently small monkeys lived in the canopies of the trees. They didn't bother anyone, but sometimes they caused mischief, letting paopus fall from above. Sometimes they'd hit people on the head. The villagers joked that the paopus only hit people who needed them.

Kairi stood stock still in the middle of the forest, taking in all the sounds that she had never paid attention to when she was younger. Her breathing became heavier, and she let herself collapse onto the ground, sitting cross-legged amongst fallen leaves from the trees. Everything around her betrayed hidden life. It was beyond Kairi's fingertips, it was right in front of her. She could feel the trees watching her.

A slight wind blew through the trees, shaking them, and the forest sounds became more intense, grating on Kairi's ears. She suddenly became a little bit emotional, and felt like she had to get out. She started to wander around, hearing the sound of a waterfall a little distance away. It was the Secret Place. She walked into it and was suddenly aware of the emptiness of the place. It was safe, the keyhole had been closed and things had gone back to normal.

Kairi suddenly became disgusted with herself. She had allowed herself to slip into normal life. It seemed like all she worried about now were boys. How had she become like that? She supposed it was Elyon and Kuroha's fault. They had childish moments, but they weren't childish. A part of both of their innocence had been taken from them. Kairi wondered how Sora had kept his, with his father disappearing, and having to deal with his mother.

Sora had told Kairi that she had been the reason he had been able to cope with things after his father disappeared. For some reason this made Kairi feel guilty. She shouldn't have felt guilty at all. Helping Sora cope was a good thing. Sora was off saving worlds and all Kairi was doing was waiting for him to come back, and she couldn't even do that properly.

…..

Sora and Kairi charged over to the Secret Place, giggling like mad. Riku was sick that day, and after going to see him they had gone off to the island again.

They pushed past flowers and bushes that covered the ground of the forest, stepping over mossy wood that had fallen from the canopies above, to reach their destination. When Kairi and Sora got to the waterfall, they charged past it as fast as they could to see which one got less wet. Then, they were in the cave, panting contentedly.

There was a small shaft of light that shone down near the middle of the cave where tree roots had crumbled the stone around them and made it fall through. Kairi let her hand fall into the light, and giggled at the change in temperature. "It's warm here, Sora," she said, but Sora didn't hear her. He was drawn to the back corner of the cave, where a door was.

Kairi suddenly got shivers, and stepped fully into the light without noticing herself doing it. "Sora, what are you doing?" she asked nervously. Sora reached his hand out to the knob on the door, and the whole environment was suddenly quiet. There was no wind or animal noise. It was like all sound had been sucked out of the cave. Kairi saw Sora shivering badly. "It's really cold at this corner," he whispered. Kairi felt an extreme temperature drop as she stepped out of the light, closer to Sora as he slowly turned the nob. "It's unlocked," he giggled nervously, breathing shallowly and preparing to open the door. Then he took a deep breath, and pulled the doorknob violently, but the only sound that came was the creak of the wood getting stuck. "Aw, crap!" Sora said in dejection. "What is it?" Kairi whispered, feeling as if her voice was magnified tenfold. "It's stuck," Sora replied.

Momentary silence filled the place as Sora thought deeply. Then, he knelt down on the ground to try and see why the door was stuck. Kairi suddenly felt intensely nervous. "There's X's across the bottom of the door," Sora breathed, tracing them with his fingers. Then, he stuck his finger under the door, and ran it under the bottom, trying to see what was making the door stuck.

As Sora did this, Kairi's heart began beating faster and faster, and she trembled. She slowly backed away from Sora until she was back in the light, which calmed her down, but there was still something making her nervous.

Suddenly, Sora yelped, and bounced away from the door, sucking on his forefinger with a scowl. Kairi's heartbeat slowed to its normal rate, and she charged over to Sora and knelt beside him. When he pulled his finger out of his mouth, there was a dark prick on the edge of his finger. "Something bit me!" he barked, examining the bite closer. "It looks infected," he added nervously, trying to squeeze it. Black blood came out.

"I'll suck out the poison!" Kairi volunteered, and grabbed Sora's forefinger. He protested a little, but stopped when Kairi sucked on the edge of his finger. She spit out the black stuff when she was finished and kissed Sora's finger, making him blush. "There! All better," she said loudly. Sora laughed, peering down closer at his thumb. "You did a really good job, Kairi. All the stuff is gone."

Kairi shrugged. She had tried not to swallow any of the stuff she'd sucked from Sora's finger, but she could still feel a little bit on her tongue. "Let's go to the waterfall," she said, and she and Sora ran out of the cave. Sora charged right into the waterfall, jumping into it with a holler, but Kairi cupped her hands and took out some water to swish in her mouth. She wanted to get all of the venom from whatever had bitten Sora out of her. She spit it out, returning to sit beside Sora, who was floating around the edges of the waterfall, completely content.

"What do you think bit you, Sora?" Kairi asked, making Sora shrug. "Probably some sort of spider. Thanks again, Kairi."

Kairi smiled. "Don't mention it." Then she began to think about the door more. "Maybe it's closed for a reason, Sora," Kairi whispered. "What if it didn't want to be opened? Or if someone made it so that it couldn't be opened."

"Yeah, like the guy who put the X's on the bottom of the door," Sora said brightly. Kairi looked at him in curiosity, so he continued with his theory.

"The X's were probably like a 'keep out' signal, right? Like the guy's signature!" Sora added with starry eyes. "He was probably a hero or something! We've got to put our signatures, Kairi!" he hollered with deep enthusiasm, jumping out of the waterfall onto the shore, shaking himself off like a dog. His hair quickly bounced back to its normal position and he looked at Kairi expectantly. "We already have our signatures, remember Sora?" Kairi said shyly. Sora looked at her in a puzzled way, but then he understood.

He smiled and took Kairi's hand. "Yeah, I remember now. Our pictures," he whispered. Kairi nodded. They were quiet again until Sora let go of Kairi's hand, charging ahead of her out to the beach. He beckoned for her to follow him before turning around and charging off once more. Kairi's eyes were drawn back to the cave, where the door and their signatures were. It was her safe place, but it held that door. It was good and bad. But she was glad it was she, Sora, and Riku's secret. And the mysterious man's. The one who closed the door.

"Thank you!" Kairi whispered, and ran after Sora onto the beach. A slight wind blew past the cave entrance, sending echoes through its walls.

…

Kairi touched the X's on the bottom of the door at the back of the cave again. She'd seen them awhile before and wondered where they came from, not remembering the time she'd first been introduced to them, with Sora. She wondered who had made the X's. Was he a hero? Was he a 'he', after all?

Was waiting for Sora working?

Kairi chuckled to herself, rubbing her temple with a sigh. These thoughts were giving her headaches. Sometimes she wished that Sora would let her mind have some peace. But she knew that that would be even worse. Not knowing him would just make her wonder about him even more. "I make no sense," Kairi whispered, sitting back against the wall of the cave. Her eyes were again drawn to the picture that she and Sora had drawn together, tying them together. It made her smile, and she crawled over to it to examine it closer, running her hands over the chalk carefully so she would not smear it.

Then, she leaned back against the wall again, blissfully reminiscing, until she remembered that she was supposed to be practicing rowing.

"Oh, crap!" she yelped, jumping up and charging out of the cave and past the waterfall as fast as she could. She grabbed up her boat from inside the line of trees and tugged it out after her onto the shore, trying to act inconspicuous. She wondered how long she'd been sitting there, and she remembered how much the language teacher disliked her. If word got around that she was skipping classes on sports week, she'd be in huge trouble.

"Crap, crap, crap," she growled, hopping into her boat and running off into the water with it so it could start off with good mileage. The little boat almost floated away from her before she could jump into it, but she pulled its tail back a little bit and hopped over the boat's side, landing in its center and grabbing her oars. Then, she was off towards the shore. She remembered the rowing races she had done with Sora and Riku and her heart began to beat faster with excitement. Kairi began to carefully pay attention to the way the water moved, pushing forward and backward with the tides. She'd passed out three boats of shocked rowers by the time she began to think she was going a little bit too fast.

When she reached the shore third she noticed the gym teacher was beaming at her. Kairi's legs felt like erasers, incapable of voluntary movement as she hopped out of the boat and peered back at the other people still coming in from the sea. She didn't notice the gym teacher coming closer to her until the woman patted her on the shoulder. "If you row like that this weekend, you could do really well!" she said brightly. Kairi's heart sank. She hadn't meant to make a scene. "I don't have much endurance," Kairi replied, but the woman shook her head as if to dismiss her. "Rowing the whole class period and then coming in with that speed is pretty good."

"_Yeah, except for the fact that half the class period I was sitting in a cave," _Kairi thought bitterly to herself. As she thought about it, she chuckled at the absurdity of the statement, careful not to laugh too loud in case the teacher heard her and grew suspicious.

Kairi walked back to the school ahead of the rest of the group, kicking her feet back and forth as she walked. Footsteps neared her once more, and she wondered if it was the teacher again. Soon enough, she found that it was.

"I think that you should join the rowing club, Kairi," the teacher said brightly. Kairi shrugged. "I don't know," she said unsurely, but the teacher shut her down again. "You are a natural. And I hear that you're falling behind in school," she added.

Kairi rolled her eyes without realizing it, hoping that the teacher hadn't seen her. The woman was still talking about rowing, mostly off in her own world. Her eyes shone as she discussed the great effect exercise had on overall mental and physical health. Fed up with hearing about all of the benefits of exercise, Kairi slowly blinked out, thinking of the shapes the clouds formed. She saw a pig, a deer, and a mangled tree before the gym teacher shook her out of her reverie with questions.

"Kairi, did you hear me?"

"What?" Kairi responded. The gym teacher snorted. "I thought as much. I'm signing you out. Delinquents like you need all the help you can get," she said half jokingly, winking at Kairi as they neared the entrance of the junior high. Kairi did not respond, feeling a little bit helpless at all the 'help' the teachers thought they were giving her. It was suffocating.

When they all got into the locker room Kairi had a quick shower, changed into her uniform, and went off to lunch, traveling to her regular field spot. She sat down and closed her eyes, wanting to be alone. She thought about what the science teacher had told her about the human brain. Then, she tried remembering as much as she could about Sora, running it over and over in her mind.

After lunch ended, Kairi went back to class to sit through social studies and planning period. When planning period came, she asked for a pass to the library, soon followed by Kuroha and Elyon.

"Why weren't you at lunch?" Kuroha asked suspiciously. "I was practicing rowing," Kairi said. "And then I ate by the field because I wanted some air."

"We usually eat on the roof!" Kuroha said, "There's lots of air up there!"

Kairi nodded in return, running her forefinger over the edge of the library table where someone had written their name.

"You could sit with us during lunch from now on, Kairi."

"Okay."

Elyon looked more closely at Kairi, with an expression of curiosity. "What's wrong, Kairi?" She asked, and Kairi shrugged. "It's nothing."

"No, tell us!" Kuroha replied in enthusiasm. Kairi sighed at their inquiries. "I've been recruited for the rowing team, now."

"Aw," Kuroha chuckled. "That's too bad."

"Are you good?" Elyon asked. Kairi shrugged. "I snuck onto the island and then realized that I was almost late back. I rowed really fast and the gym teacher saw me."

Kuroha broke out laughing at this, inciting a scowl from the librarian at the front desk.

"Sorry about that, Kairi, but I'm afraid that that was completely your own fault," she whispered, chuckling in between her words.

Kairi protested, leaning into Elyon and Kuroha as she spoke, "The language teacher has been spreading rumors that I'm a delinquent! Everyone's being hard on me now!"

"He has just got it _out _for you," Elyon chuckled, shaking her head. Kairi slumped her head onto her fists, frowning bitterly. "I know," she muttered with a sigh. "And I've got to turn in that stupid poem next Monday to be judged."

"I can help you with it if you want, Kairi," Elyon tried, but Kairi shook her head. "No, if it's got to be by me, it's going to be completely my own. Even if it's terrible."

Elyon smiled at this, perking up a little bit. "What are you thinking about?" Kairi asked. Elyon shrugged. "I'm just excited for the culture festival. I'm hoping to be a part of the opening show, myself."

"That's great!" Kuroha giggled, hugging her friend. Elyon smiled widely as she thought about it. "I've been practicing really hard," she murmured in reply. "I hope I get in."

"You will," Kuroha replied without hesitation. Elyon smiled again in return.

The bell finally rang for class to end, and Kairi suddenly felt her heart beating faster than usual. She would have to go back to the psychiatrist today. She had an appointment at five so that she could work on her poem. Kairi always found that she could not think straight after the meetings with Ms. H. They were supposed to be getting her to feel better, but it only gave her bad dreams and worry. She couldn't concentrate on her poem that way.

Kairi attempted to walk out of the school, but the gym teacher stopped her. "Aren't you coming to rowing practice?"

Kairi blushed, not wanting to tell the teacher about her situation. "I have to… um… go to a psychiatrist today," she whispered. The gym teacher looked at her unapologetically. "When is it?" she asked specifically. Kairi stood dumbstruck for a moment before responding, "what?"

"When is it?" the gym teacher repeated.

Kairi opened and closed her mouth like a fish momentarily, then tried to get a few words out so that the gym teacher would not find her suspicious of lying or anything of the sort.

"It's at 5."

"Well, then, that's great. You have an hour."

Kairi looked on helplessly as the gym teacher dragged her towards the gym locker room. She collected some exercise clothes and traipsed down to the beach with the rest of the rowers, pursing her lips sourly. So much for her poetry. Now the language teacher would be angry with her. "Ma'am, I really wanted to do my homework," Kairi pleaded, but the gym teacher would not have it. "You can do your homework after your meeting with the psychiatrist. When does it end?"

"It ends at 6."

"That leaves you an hour for dinner, and an two hours for homework. I don't know any student who goes to bed before nine."

Kairi was lost for words, and just went along with the gym teacher. She rowed for an hour, being egged on by the gym teacher to reach the speed she had taken during class. When fifty minutes had passed, Kairi was allowed to leave. She walked down the road with wobbling legs, and breathed heavy on the way to the psychiatrist.

Her mother was waiting at the door for her with a wide smile as Kairi trudged up the steps to the porch to wait with her.

"Didn't you miss me?" Kairi panted. Her mother shook her head and patted Kairi on the shoulder. "Your school contacted me and said you needed to practice for the sports festival. Are you in the rowing club now?"

Kairi nodded and her mother sighed as if she was worried. "Well, if you want to do a sport, I'd rather you do cross country. Those girls stay nice and slim. If you're rowing, go easy on the arms, alright?" Her mother added nervously. "I don't want you having man shoulders, it's very unsightly."

Kairi scowled at this, but turned away as she did so that her mother could not see her. Just as this happened, the latch on the door was removed and the door opened. Ms. H stood in front of them with a motherly smile, nodding affectionately at Kairi' mother before saying hello to Kairi.

"How was school today, Kairi?" Ms. H asked with a chuckle, then raised her hands up jokingly, as if in surrender. "Or perhaps we can save it for my room."

Kairi's mother let out a light tittering laugh at this, beaming down at Kairi like they were all fabulous friends. Discomfort was creeping through Kairi's mind; she remembered what Ms. H's objective was and the woman fished for it very well.

"Let's go in," Kairi murmured, forging in ahead of both her mother and her psychiatrist, who followed close behind her. The three women talked a little bit together about the week, and then each individually with Ms. H. Kairi's mother was first. Then, it was Kairi's least favorite part of the day.

She walked towards the door that led into Ms. H's office with a fast beating heart and clammy palms, suddenly noticing that the door in front of her was the same color and texture as the door at the back of Sora and Kairi's secret place. They must have been made of the same wood.

As Kairi opened the door, she imagined the darkness from the cave swallowing her and sending her to sleep in different worlds. Even though the door had been frightening, an amazing adventure had come out of it. Maybe this would be a new adventure? Kairi liked to hope that Ms. H would facilitate a transformation in Kairi that would make her better and more connected to herself and Sora. Even though the woman's objective constantly loomed in the back of Kairi's mind, telling her not to trust.

"So, what shall we talk about today, Kairi?" the woman asked brightly, entwining her fingers in front of her. Kairi squirmed a little bit, blowing out air.

"How's Sora doing?"

….

"Hey, Kairi!" Sora chirped, signaling for Kairi to come over. She did, and when she stopped in front of him, he took an apple from behind his back, showing it to her closely.

"You see this apple?" he said seriously. Kairi nodded.

Sora paused a moment as if in deep concentration before throwing his hands behind his back, and flinging them out either side of him again, no apple in hand. "Ta-da!" he said with glee. "Apple, gone!"

Suddenly, there was a little thud, and Kairi peeked behind Sora. The apple had fallen from the belt of his pants onto the ground.

"Aw!" Sora said in deep dejection, swiping the apple up angrily. "I'd been working on that so hard!"

"You'll get it some day, Sora," Kairi giggled.

Riku looked on the exchange lazily before finally stepping up and striding towards the two in curiosity. "What are you all doing?" he asked. Then he spied Sora's apple and laughed. "Are you trying to do that magic trick again, Sora?"

Sora nodded with a pout, making Riku laugh harder. "It just goes to show you, for all those illusionist's wild tricks, the apple's always somewhere."

"You don't believe in magic, Riku?" Kairi asked incredulously, and Riku shook his head.

"Magic is what you can hide," he murmured.

…

Ms. H reached over and plucked a cookie from its plate, held it up, and put it on her desk in front of Kairi. "You see this cookie now, don't you?" she asked. Kairi nodded. "Therefore _your _mind is registering it."

"Yes," Kairi said coolly.

"There is a link that binds this image in your mind to the real world. Do you know what that link is?" Ms. H prompted further, and Kairi shrugged. "It's molecules, Kairi. Matter. Everything in the real world is made of it. That's how we perceive our reality. See, the mind is very powerful. It is the origin of who we are and what we do."

Ms. H took the cookie back and set it amongst the rest of the cookies on the plate, wiping the crumbs left over from it off the table. "When our minds are not at their sharpest, we have to try to differentiate between the times that we are reacting to a sensation brought about by outside causes, or causes within ourselves. If there is no link connected our experiences to molecules in the outside world, then it's safe to say that the cause of the experience holds its origin in our mind. Do you follow me?"

Kairi sat still, staring coldly at Ms. H, who looked at her expectantly with a slight smile of apprehension. "I cannot make you believe that what you are seeing is part of the world within you. It is your job to discover that for yourself. So that you can let it go and heal. Because when we become too attached to the world created by our mind, we lose sight of the physical world around us."

Kairi looked down at her fingernails, not knowing how to respond. Ms. H was silent for a moment, but then she pulled out an apple from inside her lunchbox, setting it again in front of Kairi. Kairi stared at it blankly before looking up to Ms. H for reference.

"What do you see?" Ms. H asked. "An apple," Kairi responded. Ms. H nodded. "And that's completely believable. I'm going to make it disappear," she added with another smile.

Ms. H held the apple in her right hand, and slide her left hand over her right hand gracefully before opening her hands up to reveal that the apple was gone. Then, she stood up and did a full turn for Kairi, displaying that the apple was not on her. Finally, she slid her right hand over her left hand, and the apple appeared again. Kairi smiled without helping it. It reminded her of Sora.

"Do you want to know how I did it?" Ms. H asked. Kairi shook her head. Ms. H chuckled. "I played with the way the human eye works. You were concentrating on my right hand, so you didn't notice me converting the apple from my right hand to my left," she murmured, replicating the movements slowly so Kairi could see exactly what was going on. "The next part takes some practice, but I shot the apple into the crook of my elbow. As I turned around I moved my arm so that you couldn't see the apple." Ms. H replicated the movements again so that Kairi could see what she meant. "And the apple returns with a slight downward turn of the arms and the opposite motion of what I did at first," she murmured, finishing the visual display before setting the apple back on the table.

After setting the apple down, Ms. H searched around for a small knife and cut the fruit in half. The inside was a soft orange. Kairi stared at it for a moment, pursing her lips.

"I thought it was an apple, too, when I bought the box. You can imagine my surprise when I bit into one. It's a new type of peach. They're nice, though. Would you like some?" she held out a slice for Kairi, who took it tentatively, nibbling at it in silence.

"The mind governs the way we see things. When the mind sees an image, it concentrates on the most important part of the image. If the image seems familiar enough, the mind gives it a definition. Until you saw the inside of the peach, it was an apple, and then when it was proven a peach, it was a peach. Likewise with the magic trick. Until proven the apple was always there, there was no apple. It seemed like it disappeared but it didn't."

"Excuse me," Kairi responded finally, "but what is the point?"

There was silence as Ms. H chewed on her peach, staring at Kairi with an unreadable expression. "The mind creates and interprets the physical world. Therefore, magic is what you can hide. The apple is always somewhere," she added with a little smile. "The mind hides things, too. The job of the afflicted is to decipher what the mind is hiding and decide if it is real or not."

Kairi suddenly felt very tired, and sank a little lower in her seat.

"Remember these are just discussions, Kairi. You're smart so I know I can confer with you in a thoughtful, intelligent way. I don't want to treat you like a 'patient'," she added sympathetically. "I think you are bright enough to work through the troubles you've been through without the help of some kind of chemical."

"Are you threatening me?" Kairi blurted out. Ms. H seemed taken aback, but shook her head. "Of course not, Kairi. It was a complement. It means that I believe you are very strong."

This touched Kairi momentarily, but apprehension quickly crept into her mind.

"Would you like to stop?" the psychiatrist asked, a worried expression coloring her face, but Kairi shook her head defensively. "No, let's keep going," she said, trying to sit up tall. "I could sit here for hours."

Ms. H stared at Kairi observantly before sighing in what sounded like disappointment, scribbling something on her notepad. "Alright. I'll keep you for one more hour and then you can go home and have dinner. You must be hungry, would you like another cookie to tide you over?" she asked, and set the bowl in front of Kairi.

…..

The moment Kairi got home, she tore up to her bedroom and immediately began rummaging through all her things, trying desperately to find her creative journal. When she located it, she skimmed through it nervously, examining every page intensely.

"Dammit!" she scowled, throwing it away from her. She hadn't used Sora's name at all because she was afraid it would be blotted out. Kairi had written her poems, her dreams, and her memories all in the same book. She was having trouble deciphering which were which.

Kairi ruffled her hair, trying to remember to the best of her ability. She went to the secret place before they set off on their raft. Then, she felt her heart constricting. She could hear something pumping behind the door. She heard a boy's voice and called his name. When she turned around she was swallowed by darkness and she woke up in Hollow Bastion. There was a little heartless on the ground. It looked up at her and Kairi immediately knew whom it was…

"Who was it?" Kairi whispered pleadingly to herself, banging her head with her fist in the vain hope that it would help her remember. "Sora!" she cried, before repeating the memory over and over in her head like her science teacher had taught her.

Sora turned back to normal and he and Kairi went back to Hollow Bastion before Sora left to save Riku. Kairi was walking around Traverse Town, when suddenly she was going down a strange dirt road. The sky and landscape on either side of the road melted away until Kairi was surrounded by darkness and a mist that rose from the dirt road below her. Then, there was Sora. He told her something.

"I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you," She whispered to herself, and then furrowed her eyebrows. It was like an absurd dream. She remembered the white haze that had surrounded their faces when they spoke to each other. Kairi found that she could hardly believe it herself.

….

When Friday morning rolled around, Kairi had to be woken up by her mother. She had had a particularly bad bout of insomnia the night before, and she was exhausted. Though somehow she was able to drag herself out of bed and get ready for school, noticing in dismay that her nightclothes were damp. She'd been sweating again. She wondered if her mother had heard her the night before; she'd tried to make sure that she didn't.

The shower warmed Kairi up and she even hummed a little bit as she washed herself. She quickly had to stop this though, because it was lulling her to sleep again. She ate a bit of breakfast and headed out the door. It was getting much colder outside. To her surprise, Dahlia was waiting outside for her.

"Happy first of November!" she said with a smile, nudging Kairi in the shoulder. Kairi smiled in return. "Hey, Dahlia, what brings you over here?"

"I went by the beach this morning. The water is getting colder, too. Everything is falling asleep for the winter," she said, sucking in a deep breath and nodding to herself. "You excited for the New Year? I hear the celebration this year is going to be fantastic!" Dahlia chirped in a sing song voice.

"How many more days left of school?" Kairi asked, making Dahlia snort. "I don't even want to know. Too many to count. I just can't wait for the snow. The winter really gets my creative juices flowing, you know?"

"I'm more of a summer girl," Kairi murmured, worrying. She hoped Riku would be back by New Years.

They came upon the school, then, and shuffled into their classrooms. Math went by in a breeze, they all did fun problems to do with exercise and the team who got the most points in the end won a prize. The science teacher tried to slip in some of the original lesson plan, but she gave up by the middle of the class period and taught about the chemistry of nutrition. During health and PE, Kairi was practicing for her events. For her first class, she was running. She and Kuroha ran together, but Kuroha quickly got tired and made Kairi sit out with her for a while.

"I'm not made for long distance running, anyway," Kuroha wheezed, wiping her forehead and kicking dust in front of her. "I was made to model. Your mom was talking to me about it again. She says I'm nice and skinny and don't need to do excessive exercise."

"A little bit of exercise is always good, just to stay trim," Kairi tried but Kuroha snorted. "It just makes the clothes look weird on you."

Kairi highly doubted that, but she kept it to herself, examining the ground in front of her closely, deep in thought.

"Is the teacher going to make you practice rowing during planning?" Kuroha asked and Kairi nodded. "She thinks I really have a chance at winning."

"That's cool," Kuroha mumbled. Suddenly, the gym teacher jogged towards them with an irritated expression. "What are my runners doing sitting down?"

"We were just taking a break because we were tired," Kuroha chirped in a charming voice. The teacher wouldn't have it. "Get up and go run with everyone else. Kairi I expected better," she added, and trudged off.

Kairi and Kuroha ran around the rest of the course and stopped at the beach for her next class. She rowed hard and tried not to think about anything the whole time except doing as well as she could. She knew that the PE teachers would have been talking about her. She didn't want to seem like a delinquent.

She had lunch with Kuroha and Elyon on the rooftop this time, and they all talked about the Sports Festival and the numerous events. Kuroha asked Kairi to get Tidus to watch her run, and Elyon snorted.

"I think you'd better not, Kuroha," Elyon sniggered. "He won't be very impressed with you after he sees you collapse on the field!"

"That's an excellent idea," Kuroha rebuffed. "He can resuscitate me! We can share a passionate kiss! Do you know if he's ever been kissed before, Kairi?" Kuroha asked suddenly. Kairi shrugged. "I don't really know. We used to do childish things. We never really talked about that sort of stuff."

"Oh come on," Kuroha pouted. "He never told you anything?"

"No," Kairi mumbled. Kuroha chuckled in return, eyeing Elyon with a meaningful glance. "Your friends probably all liked you. That was why they never told you anything. You played with all boys, didn't you?"

"It wasn't like that!" Kairi snapped suddenly. "It was just innocent. Not everything is sexual!"

There was silence for a moment. Then, Kuroha looked down at her hands, her hair falling over her face, shielding it from Kairi. "I'm going to go to the bathroom," she mumbled, and stalked off down the ladder on the side of the roof. Elyon stared after her as she left before giving Kairi an angry glance. "Why did you say that?"

"I'm just really tired," Kairi apologized, but Elyon shook her head and went off to see if Kuroha was okay. "I was just tired," Kairi repeated to herself, picking at her lunch morosely.

…

Friday night, there were stalls set up for the weekend, describing the different sports clubs and advertising them. Kairi was once again courted by the rowing team and the cross country team, and she politely declined, knowing that later on the teachers would probably force her into doing at least one. Her mother would probably make sure that that was running.

Saturday, Kairi woke up early after a surprisingly easy night bright eyed and ready for the day. She met Kuroha and Elyon as they were going towards the pier where the blitzball tournament was being hosted, and walked up to them tentatively.

"Hi guys," she said shyly. "Is it alright if I sit with you?"

Kuroha eyed Kairi for a moment, before smiling. "Of course it's okay!" she bubbled, and flung her arm around Kairi's shoulders. "We all say things we don't mean, sometimes."

Kairi breathed out a sigh of relief, and they all went as close to the water as possible so that they could see the game better. Stands had been erected along the pier, and old TV's had been hooked up to underwater cameras so that everyone could watch what was going on under the water. They even had news presenters from the sports show there to film the events.

Scanning the crowd, Kairi finally laid eyes on Tidus and the rest of the junior high team, standing nervously on one side of the pier. On the other side, the high school team assembled. Kairi gaped a little when she saw the team. All of the boys were huge. Wakka was among the shortest and the youngest, but he was gaining on the rest of the team in terms of height. He must have been growing taller. Kairi hadn't noticed.

Elyon stared over at Wakka dreamily, and Kuroha waved to Tidus, who seemed very nervous. "He doesn't see me!" she said with a pout, and stood up to get a better view. "Tidus!" she screamed, and Tidus snapped up to look at her with a sheepish smile. She blew a kiss at him and he went a little red, getting pats on the back from all of the players. "He'll never hear the end of this, now!" Kuroha giggled, satisfied with herself. Kairi watched the water.

"Would the two teams step forward?" The referee boomed, and the two teams stepped forward to face one another. Tidus eyed Wakka with an intense stare and Wakka just looked back with a lazy smile.

"Teams, in the water!" the referee roared, and the teams dove into the water, swimming out to the designated spot. Kairi could barely see the goal posts underneath the waves. It would be hard with the current that was coming in today.

"On my mark, the game begins," the referee explained, holding a hand up to count down the time. "Five, four, three, two, one- Blitz off!"

A huge horn sounded, and the game began. Kairi watched in amazement as the teams swam expertly with the tides, interacting underneath the water. Then, Tidus got the ball. Kuroha squealed in delight, cheering for him, but one of the high schoolers quickly stole the ball and made a goal. Some people in the stands cheered, including Elyon. Kuroha looked a little bit disappointed. "Is he good?" she asked nervously. Elyon laughed out loud. "He's in middle school, Kuroha."

The high school meanwhile made another goal, and was about to make another one, but was blocked by a female player who was quite good. Tidus was swimming and playing as hard as he could. Every two minutes or so, a few heads would bob out of the water for air. Kairi looked on in amazement when Wakka came up for a breath after a full six minutes, his chest expanding to an impossible size as he sucked in air and went under again.

The high school team was beating the middle schoolers quite soundly by the end of the first round. There was a bit of the intermission, and the middle school team came out of the water gasping and sputtering. The high schoolers were flushed but not too bothered. One of them went up to the girl on the junior high team and was speaking with her. Kairi wondered if they were attempting to recruit her for the high school team next year. She seemed pleased.

Tidus paced back and forth in dejection.

"He looks so sad," Kuroha said with a pout, crinkling her skirt nervously in her lap. "He needs my help!" she added. A few moments after she said this, she stood up and made her way out of the stands and towards the team.

"Oh my gosh, what is she doing?" Elyon cried as Kuroha took Tidus by the hand and led him underneath the stands. Elyon stood up abruptly and tried to get out of the stands, but Kairi stopped her. "It's fine, Elyon," she said. "Tidus is a nice kid."

Elyon looked at Kairi in disbelief. "After spending all this time with Kuroha, and you're still not afraid for Tidus?"

"Well," Kairi mumbled, knitting her eyebrows together and scratching her forehead as Elyon moved past her, trying to get down to Kuroha. She was too late though. A head full of black curls bobbed over towards them, and when the girl who owned them turned around, they both saw that it was Kuroha, flushed and grinning like mad. She charged over to them and sat silently. "Can I have some of your candy?" she asked Elyon, who nodded suspiciously.

"What did you do, Kuroha?" Elyon asked nervously, but Kuroha would not answer.

Kairi spied Tidus coming out from under the stands, walking as if he was in a dream. He smiled dreamily, and took a big sigh before he came back to where his team was. They hadn't noticed him leave.

The referee stepped back up to the edge of the pier and called the teams back together. "We are now entering the second half of the game. Teams, in the water!"

Both teams got in the water, Tidus cleanly diving in and bobbing out of the water spritely, still grinning.

"On my mark, part two begins," the referee announced, holding his hand up again to count down. "Five, four, three, two one…"

The horn sounded again, and the game resumed. Immediately, Tidus swiftly picked up the ball, maneuvering cleanly through the other team and making a goal. Kuroha and Kairi both cheered, especially Kuroha, who gave it everything she had.

Tidus continued to make a few goals, and the heightened moral of the team made them do much better than they had in the first half. When the game got down to the last few minutes, the score was 30 to 11, with Tidus and the rest of the junior high players swimming as hard as they could.

"If they get at least more then half I'll be happy," Kuroha muttered, ensuing another laugh from Elyon, who seemed to be relaxing.

The score was 30 to fifteen with four seconds to go, and Tidus swam straight for the goal. The rest of the high school team was concentrated on Tidus, so no one noticed the female player swimming near silently over to the goal, signaling for Tidus to bring it to her. Then, Tidus smashed the ball with all his might towards the girl, who caught it and went in for the goal.

The goalie hesitated for a moment, and the female junior high player was able to put the ball through the goal. Kuroha screamed in delight, jumping up and down as the last horn sounded, and Elyon and Kairi just smiled, looking out over the water as the players swam back in. Tidus seemed disappointed when he looked at the score, but the rest of the team was very happy with him. A high school player went over to talk to him, and he was beaming by the end of the conversation as he ran up to Kairi, Kuroha, and Elyon with glee.

"They said I played really well!" He announced. "They found out I was only in 8th grade and they were really impressed, they thought I was in 9th! They were going to ask me to come to tryouts!" He added proudly, puffing out his chest. Kuroha gave him a congratulatory kiss on the cheek, and he blushed deeply in return as Kairi spied Wakka coming towards them. He seemed amused.

"Hey, Kairi," Wakka said, and leaned in to talk to her closely. "Don't tell Tidus this, but our goalie was about to stop their last point. He decided to give it to them."

"Aw," Kairi chuckled. "That's not entirely fair."

"Ah, who cares," Wakka returned with a smile. "He seems happy enough."

Kairi laughed, suddenly remembering her promise to Elyon. "Do you two want to sit and talk while I get some ice cream?" she asked. Wakka was about to respond, but Kairi peeled off towards the ice cream stand before he could say anything contrary to her plans. Elyon sat near him shyly, sharing in his awkward silence while Tidus and Kuroha laughed and talked together. It was clear that Tidus had fallen sufficiently in love.

…..

All the aquatic sports and the team sports were being held on Saturday, and the track and field events and finals were being held tomorrow. So Kairi had her rowing event today.

She made her way over to the stall to get her number and time, finding that she was in the second heat. Kairi couldn't help but roll her eyes when she saw that there were a good dose of high school rowers in her heat. Was the teacher trying to humiliate her into rowing for the team?

Elyon came back with her swimming heat and time, showing Kairi her wrist. "What time are you?"

"I'm four o'clock," Kairi said, making Elyon nod. "I'm at two. I'll be able to catch you."

They all ate lunch together, Kairi situating Elyon and Wakka beside each other. Tidus and Kuroha were off somewhere, which worried Elyon. She bit her lip as she continued to look out for Kuroha, scanning the crowds that were sitting down to lunch every few minutes. The pair finally came back and sat down with Kairi and the rest of the gang, laughing and talking nonstop. Their heads bent close to one another and they shared private thoughts, their cheeks pink and their smiles big.

An announcement boomed throughout the school grounds to say that the swimming and dive events had begun. Elyon asked Wakka the time quietly. "It's 12:30," Wakka returned and Elyon stood up, brushing dirt off her backside. "Well, I'll see you guys. My event is at two if you want to come and see," she added shyly, eyeing Wakka in particular. The high schooler was not paying attention to her, instead off in thought. Kairi nudged him in the leg, snapping him to attention and subtly gesturing to Elyon. "What?" he asked politely. Perhaps it was Kairi's imagination, but it seemed like he was getting a little impatient with Elyon. It irritated her greatly.

"It's nothing," Elyon mumbled, but Kairi cut in for her. "Elyon wanted you to come to her event. Will you?"

"Will you be there?" Wakka said bluntly, and the whole group seemed to go dead quiet. Kairi held an iron grip on her sandwich, fighting for the right words to say. She watched in near helplessness, as Elyon seemed to shrink, bending her head down and letting her shoulders hunch.

"Of course I'll be there, Elyon is my friend," Kairi responded coolly.

"He doesn't have to come," Elyon returned sourly as she stood up to leave. Kairi felt like she couldn't win.

When two o'clock was near, they all got up and went to watch Elyon's event. Wakka walked very close to Kairi as they went over. "Hey, did I offend you?" he asked nonchalantly.

Kairi scowled heavily, "Of course you did. That was mean."

"I don't like her. I don't get the problem with that."

"Maybe if you got to know her you would like her," Kairi hissed in return. "She's really nice and she's very pretty. She's just shy!"

"She's not that pretty," Wakka snorted. Kairi's heart fell. "She's prettier than a lot of girls."

"I don't care about the 'lot of girls'," Wakka mumbled. Then, he eyed Kairi meaningfully. "All I care about is the prettiest one."

"That's shallow," Kairi retorted. "And besides, Kuroha has Tidus."

Wakka snorted, shaking his head. "I'm not talking about Kuroha." He looked at Kairi with a smile, and Kairi understood, taken aback.

"You… you think that I'm… pretty?" she said quietly. Wakka nodded.

Kairi felt her cheeks going red, and she held them with her hands instinctively. No one had called her pretty before. Not even Riku.

Something seemed to pierce through her heart as she said this, and she knew she'd gotten it wrong. It wasn't Riku. It was someone else she was thinking of. Then, it came into her mind. Sora. The imaginary boy.

Kairi stepped away from Wakka, using the excuse that she was going to the bathroom. She went into the empty room, breathing out a sigh of relief that she was alone. Then, she looked in the mirror and felt her face. She hated that Wakka liked her. But it was nice to be called pretty. It made her feel important. But what about Elyon? It wasn't about Kairi.

The bell sounded that signaled the beginning of the swimming event, and Kairi charged out of the bathroom, rushing towards the pool area. She got in just in time to see Elyon kick off and dive into the water. She was under the water for a few seconds before she surfaced, driving her hands into the water furiously as she did the freestyle stroke. Wakka snorted behind Kairi, smiling a little bit. Kairi had to admit; Elyon wasn't very good at swimming at all. She wondered if Kuroha and Elyon had been to the beach at all over the past few years. The race finally ended, and Elyon got 7th place out of 8 lanes. She didn't seem altogether disappointed, smiling even as she walked towards Kairi and the group.

"Well, I beat my last time!" she announced. "And I didn't completely lose!"

"You did well," Kairi tried, but Elyon snorted. "Please, Kairi, you don't need to lie for me."

Kairi sensed a deeper seriousness behind the joke, wondering if it was just her imagination or if Elyon was getting at something else. Sometimes Kairi wished that people would just say what they meant instead of simply insinuating.

"Well, we've got two hours till Kairi's rowing," Wakka tried, smiling at Elyon for Kairi. "What should we do?"

…..

Kairi's mother answered the door when she got home, giving Kairi an awkward smile. "Hey, Kairi, I still have friends over," she said in a fake bubbly voice. "I thought you were staying over at a friend's house."

"No," Kairi said simply, holding up a piece of paper that stated she'd made it to the final rounds for rowing. "It turns out I'm not half bad," she said as she displayed the paper to her mother, who looked worried. "I hope that you're not too good at rowing. Remember what I said about the arms. You can't afford to loose those."

"Why not?" Kairi retorted. Her mother was taken aback, but looked at her sweetly. "Honey, your arms are one of your best features."

"What about my face?" Kairi muttered, but her mother acted like she couldn't hear her, leading Kairi inside and introducing her to her friends. Kairi talked for a little while before heading up to her bedroom and plopping down over her bed sheets, huddling all of her pillows towards herself.

"One person thinks I'm pretty," she muttered to herself. Then, she decided to pull out her creative journal and continue looking through it.

"It's real, it's real, it's real," she muttered to herself, trying to figure out what parts were dreams and which were fake. As the days passed, the line separating past dreams and memories blurred more and more.

…..

Kairi unfortunately did not make it to the finals for running, but she didn't mind. Kuroha was one of the last girls to cross the finish line, mainly because she hardly broke a sweat during the whole run. All she talked about was how sweating made her break out in spots.

"I can't afford to lose my looks now that I've got a fella like Tidus running after me," she said dreamily after the race as Kairi waited to get her heat assignment for the rowing finals.

"When are you going?" Kuroha asked. Kairi shrugged, "in an hour, I think."

"I'll get everyone over to watch the big rower!" Kuroha replied, patting Kairi on the back and running off. Kairi got her assignment and waited for the finals to start, scanning the crowds. All her friends were sitting down cheering for her, but she couldn't see her mother or father in sight. He had done something to do with the opening of the sports weekend ceremony, but apparently today he was on 'important political business', so he couldn't come. Kairi couldn't see her mother anywhere. She was no doubt entertaining guests at the house.

"All rowers in heat one, board the boats!" the announcer said and Kairi maneuvered her way towards the small boat that held the number four on it, checking to see if she had gotten the number correct. Then, she boarded it and waited.

"Rowers, on your mark!" the announcer roared into a microphone, and Kairi got her oars ready. Her heart was beating steadily. "On your mark, get set-" the announcer sounded a bullhorn, and the boats shot away from the dock, going on the prescribed course around the main island. Kairi kept a steady pace as she rowed, pushing back and forth while paying attention to the tides that were coming in past her. She could see schools of fish swimming past the underside of the boat, even spying a little shark fin glide over the waves in the distance. The sun shone down on the water, making it near crystal clear. Kairi had to keep herself from taking in the environment too much; she wanted to get a decent grade on the event. Maybe it would impress her teachers and they would leave her alone. Kairi knew that was a false hope, though. It would probably make things worse.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kairi saw a black silhouette swimming towards the ship and her breath caught in her throat. It was a sleek, big black fish that shone beneath the waves, taking up little fish in its mouth as it went. Its eyes were a dull black, but as Kairi continued to stare at it, its eyes began to look slightly yellow.

Kairi felt her hands going clammy, and her breathing became harder. She thought that the fish was looking at her, and began to row back against the waves as fast as she could. She was jolted out of her brief episode of terror by a loud thud behind her, lurching her forward.

"What the hell are you doing?" a girl roared behind her and Kairi swerved around to apologize, but the girl was already rowing away when Kairi fully comprehended what was going on. As the girl went out of Kairi's view and other boats passed, Kairi took one last look at where the black fish had been. It was just a regular fish, some sort of flat-headed species. Kairi had no idea why she imagined its eyes to be yellow. They were hardly distinguishable from its skin. It slowly swam away as Kairi rowed past it and continued her course.

She came in the last in her heat, considerably slower than everyone else, except one girl who had been having trouble towards the end of the race. When everyone got out of their boats, the teacher charged over to her with an angry expression.

"What happened?" she howled at Kairi. Kairi pointed out to the sea, "I saw a big fish and I thought it was… I got scared," she finished simply, in a small mumble. The teacher shook her head in disbelief. "You've been playing in the water for fourteen years, you'd think that by now you'd be used to seeing a big fish in the water!"

Kairi kept her mouth shut during the ensuing verbal onslaught from the teacher, shifting her toes around in the shoes that were too small for her feet. Then, when it was finally finished, she was able to go back to her friends.

"What happened, Kairi?" Elyon asked. Kairi shrugged. "I just… there was a really weird looking fish in the water, I got scared."

"That's why you shouldn't swim!" Kuroha giggled, mussing up Tidus' hair. "This boy is very brave."

"They had a net guarding against fish," Tidus replied, making Kuroha laugh loudly and kiss his cheek again. "Kairi, do you want to sleep over at my house?" Kuroha asked. Kairi shrugged. "I'm sure that my mother wouldn't mind," she said as Kuroha turned to Tidus and Wakka. "Do you two want to come?"

"I think I'll pass," Wakka said flatly, but Tidus looked at him imploringly and he finally gave in and said he would. They all traveled over to Kuroha's house after Kairi told her mother where she was staying, keeping themselves up nearly the whole night with talking and laughing.


End file.
